Heritage
by dees1
Summary: Jor-el knew the time was not right. It was not meant to have happened yet, but it had. And there had been consequences. He knew he had to act, make things the way they had to be. At least until he knew his son was ready.
1. Chapter 1

**Spoilers: Set at beginning of season 4 but AU with some callbacks to episodes in season 4 onwards.  
>Rating – PG13<strong>

**Prologue******

Jor-el knew the time was not right. It was not meant to have happened yet, but it had. And there had been consequences. He knew he had to act, make things the way they had to be. At least until he knew his son was ready...

-

Lois opened her eyes, totally oblivious to where she was. Everything was fuzzy. Last thing she remembered she was driving along the road when her hire car was hit by some kind of lightening. Now here she was in a place, unfamiliar to her.

It took her a while to process where she was, but soon the presence of nurses and doctors running past her room and the constant annoyance of bleeping machines betrayed the fact it was a hospital.

Sitting by her bed was a tall dark stranger, and a gorgeous one at that.

"Are you ok?" the stranger asked.

Lois pulled herself to sit up in bed. "Where am I, and who are you?"

"I don't know. I thought you might know."

Lois just stared at him in disbelief. "Great two people with amnesia. Not much hope of remembering is there. Although I do have one up on you. At least I can remember my name." Lois managed a smile.

The stranger managed to smile. What a gorgeous smile, Lois thought herself and then scolded herself for the thought. No doubt it was the knock to her head making her feel that way.

"What is your name then?"

"It's Lois...Lois Lane. I was driving into Smallville to see someone who may have known what happened to my cousin, Chloe Sullivan and I was hit by a flash of lightening. Next thing I know I am here with you."

Lois started to cry. "I'm sorry..."

The stranger grabbed her hand to comfort her. Lois lifted her eyes to meet his and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Lois, I wish I could help you..."

Lois was in a trance, those big blue eyes had her fixated, her body's wiring was on the fritz and was behaving in ways it shouldn't.

The electricity was broken by the sound of the door.

"Clark...I can't believe you are ok."

Lois saw a middle aged woman with auburn hair, approaching the stranger to hug him.  
>Clark looked lost. Lois could see the frustration and confusion in his eyes. He obviously wanted to remember but couldn't.<p>

"Do I know you...?" Clark asked this woman.

"Yeah, its me mom."

"Who am I?"

"You are Clark Kent. You disappeared three months ago and a miracle has brought you back to us."

Lois interrupted. "Did you say Clark Kent? You're the one who may hold the key to what happened to my cousin Chloe."

Martha had barely acknowledged Lois's presence, too tied up with Clark's reappearance to notice.

"You're Lois Lane?"

"How do you know?"

"The nurse on the desk told me you had brought my son in after you found him naked in a field." Martha explained.

"Naked, a field... I have no recollection of what happened after my car left the road."

"Listen, Lois. I need to get my son home. I have arranged to take him out."

"Well, I'm coming to. I hate to impose but could I stay with you. I do not know where else to go. I would go to Uncle Gabe's house but it would be too painful. And to be honest I don't want to let my only link to Chloe out of my sight." Martha could see the tears in Lois's eyes.

"Of course, dear. You come with us." She put her arm around Lois as they walked out of the hospital.

Once back at the farm, Lois asked if she could have a shower. Martha told her to make this like her home. It also gave Martha a chance to take Clark to the barn to see if she could jog any memories.

Clark looked at photos of Lana and his dad but nothing meant anything to him. Out of nowhere a blue light engulfed Clark.

Martha panicked but was pushed back by the force of the light beams. She fell to the floor and could only watch what was happening.

Then Jor-el spoke. "Martha...I have restored Kal-el memories but not the events of the past 24 hours."

"What has happened to him, Jor-el?" Why have you wiped his memory?"  
>"Martha, Something for which I am responsible and I have had to take measures to deal with the consequences. I cannot say anything more. Kal-el will discover the truth when he is ready... Jonathan Kent is out of danger..."<p>

Then the light flashed and disappeared. Clark fell to his knees

"What the hell has just happened." Clark said as he got up...

Lois went down to the kitchen after her shower to the sight of Clark and Martha running out of the door.

"Lois, we have to go. Jonathan has woken up..." Martha shouted excitedly,

"Who's Jonathan?" Lois asked.

"He's my dad." Clark beamed.

"How do you remember that? Do you have your memories back? Wait I'm coming with you."

They all jumped in the truck and headed to the hospital.

"Look, mom. You go in first and tell him I'm back. I don't want to stress his heart by seeing me without warning."

Martha hugged Clark and headed down the corridor to his room.

Lois looked at Clark. "Fancy a coffee, then I can grill you."

Clark smiled. "Are you always this persistant, Lois?"

"Yep. Nothing gets past Mad Dog Lane. Now what can you remember."

Clark lied, "The last three months are still a blank, but I will help you find out what happened to Chloe."

"How about we check out this safe house."

"Let me see my dad and then I will come with you."

Clark walked up to his father's room and knocked on the door. Lois had gone to get everyone a coffee.

"Hi dad." He sat on the bed and hugged his dad tightly.

"Son, I'm so happy to see you. What happened?"

"Jor-el put in some alternate dimension and turned me into Kal-el so as he put it, I would not be distracted by humans. He gave me the job to find three stones to prevent the Earth's destruction. But now he has given me back my human side, why I am not sure."

Martha interjected. "He said something about something happening that would have consequences and that is why he needed to wipe your mind of the events of the past 24hrs."

Clark looked confused, "what could have happened? Obviously Lois has had her mindwiped as well. Maybe she witnessed something."

"Lois? Who's Lois?" his dad inquired."

"Where shall I start?" Clark told his dad.

Lois appeared at the door. "Did I hear my name mentioned?"

Later that day, Clark and Lois headed up to the remains of the safe-house but first Lois wanted to go to Chloe and Gabe's graves to pay her respects. For some reason he x-rayed the grave. There was nothing in it.

Everything screamed at him that Chloe was still alive. He told Lois of his suspicions but she just looked at him in disbelief.

They went to the safehouse. It was obvious that no-one in the house could have survived that explosion.

"Oh, my God, Chloe. What did they do to you? What exactly do you expect to find here?"

Clark was deep in thought, " I don't know, but the FBI sealed the case, even the autopsy reports. Doesn't that sound a little odd?"

Lois commented. "Remind me if I'm ever a witness not to put my life in the hands of the FBI."

" Well, maybe she got out before the explosion."

" They said she walked inside, Clark. I don't know how anyone could survive this. Look, you may be in denial thinking Chloe's alive, but I'm gonna find out who did this to her. Let's get out of here, Clark."

Clark was just about to x-ray underneath the safe house but he was interrupted by a sound of a helicopter. Soon they were running down the hill, being shot at by people in the chopper. Lois dived into a ditch. Whilst she was not looking Clark brought the chopper down and it exploded.

Clark finally got his chance in the bathroom after Lois's 73 minute shower, not that he was timing her. He was mid-shower when he heard Lois enter the bathroom.

Clark peaked from behind the curtain. " Um... we usually take turns in the bathroom."

Lois just smirked. " Oh, don't start with me, Smallville. You're the one taking the marathon shower. Besides, my delicate feminine sensibilities aren't offended by the sight of Clark Junior. I'm not a nun, you know. I have seen it all before."

" My parents kind of missed the whole Woodstock phase. Besides, they freaked out the last time they caught me in a co-ed situation."

"Last time? So the eagle scout does have a few secrets in the closet."

" Just forget it, all right? That's my shirt."

Lois said. "It's the only thing I could find that was clean."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was his mom with towels. She must have arrived home with his dad from hospital.

"Hi Clark. I just got some fresh towels. Your dad is home."

Clark gave his mom a distracted smile. Lois could not help herself, she appeared from behind Clark.

"Hi, Mrs. Kent." Lois said as if it was the most normal situation in the world.

Lois and Clark came down stairs like two guilty children who had pinched some sweets.

Lois fought her corner, " I don't understand what the big deal is here. We just took a shower."

"Showers. We took separate showers." Clark offered in defence.

" At noon?"

Clark did not want to lie. "We went to Chloe's safe house. These guys showed up and chased us into a field, and there was all this dirt."

Jonathan was disappointed. " Clark, that is a federal crime scene. And the last thing that we want is for you two kids to get involved with the FBI."

The lecture was over. Against his father's advice Clark and Lois decided to go and chase some more leads which could help them find Chloe or if not what happened to her..

Clark and Lois went out to get in the truck when Clark noticed a familiar face pulling up in a car.

"Lana," His face lit up.

Lois noticed immediately. "Are you going to introduce us?" she asked nosily.

"Sorry, Lois. This is Lana, one of my best friends from school."

Lana piped up. "He means ex-girlfriend of the past 3 years."

Clark did not appreciate Lana snappiness at Lois. "Well, not exactly three years, more like on and off."

Lois smiled at the way Lana was defending her territory, even though they weren't together it was obvious she still had major feelings for him.

"Sorry for sounding short. I am just tired. Just got back from Paris this morning." Lana explained.

"You're back from Paris. You must've found what you were looking for." Clark suggested

Lois interrupted. " I'll say! Who wouldn't want a hot summer fling in the most romantic city on Earth?"

Lana looked at Clark with a guilty expression that answered Clark's question. " I was going to tell you."

" It's okay, Lana. We aren't together so who you see is none of my business."

Clark would not believe how he had reacted Lana to the fact she had met someone else. He always thought it would be one of the hardest things to deal with when it happened, but it didn't sting as much as he thought it would.

Lana was taken aback. "I can see it bothers you Clark, but I have a right to be happy."  
>Lois could see that Clark was not that bothered. Maybe they just broke up because they fell out of love.<p>

"Look, Clark, if you really think that Chloe's alive, I want to help find her."

" Uh, Lana... Look, I don't want to get your hopes up, but we don't know anything for sure."

"We were just going to chase a lead, why don't you ask around town to see if they know anything." Clark looked at Lana.

Clark and Lois found out that her father, who had just arrived in town unannounced was working with Lex Luthor and that Luthorcorp had paid for the funerals.

"Lois, I don't like rifling through your dad's office. He doesn't seem like the sort of man who will take to snooping kindly."

"Value your life Smallville, well you better make sure we don't get caught." Lois whispered.

They found an address which could give them more leads to Chloe. Clark sped out of the office when Lois was not looking.

He found Chloe and Gabe at the address.

"Chloe, Lois will be stoked." Clark hugged her.

It all became clear that Lex had hidden Chloe so she could testify against his father. The main thing she was safe and well and now Lois would finally be leaving town, much to Clark's relief.

Lois told her dad to come and pick her up that night. She wanted to spend the afternoon with Clark to say thanks for helping her find Chloe. She found him working on the tractor.

"Clark, can you do me one last favour." Lois asked.

"Okay, since you will be getting out of my hair tonight." Clark smiled.

"Come on a picnic with me. We have never had a chance to talk and I thought it might jog our memories."

Clark was worried about this because he hated lying to Lois about his memory loss, but then again she was his only link to his lost 24 hrs. What Jor-el had told his mom made him determined to find out what had happened.

"Ok, Lois. Shall we take the horses."

"Sounds like a plan." Lois smiled. "As long as I don't get the slow nag."

"Lois, they are not thoroughbreds." Clark laughed.

Soon they were galloping across the fields. Lois was leaving him for dust. She was one hell of a confident rider but unlike Lana she had no finesse in the art of horse riding. Her approach to riding was to have as much fun as possible in a 'who gives a damn' sort of way. Clark loved it.

He urged his horse to catch hers. He had never had so much fun in a long time and for first time in ages he had forgotten all about Jor-el and his so-called destiny.

Finally Lois stopped in lovely spot on top of Marchland Hill. She had prepared a lovely picnic, which Clark and her ate whilst reminiscing about their childhoods.

"So Clark, now you're fully tanked up on food, can we talk about our memory loss."

Clark nodded. "So you still can't remember anything."

"No, the last thing I remember was driving along, getting distracted trying to find my nicorette gum and then looking up to a flash of light in the sky. And then everything goes blank."

"Apparently the tracks showed that your car left the road and ended up in a field next to a newly formed crop circle." Clark continued. "I spoke to the sheriff."

"How about you? What is the last thing you remember 3 months ago?"

"Being in the Kawatche caves and then that's it." Clark did not want to give anything way.

"Can you show me these caves?" Lois pleaded.

Clark could not see the harm so agreed.

They arrived to the cave entrance and he grabbed Lois's hand to lead her down in case she lost her footing. Lois looked at their hands and felt secure. Then again she began to feel the electricity building up between them as it had done at the hospital.

She soon snapped out of it when she heard Clark's voice.

" Lana. What are you doing down here?"

Lana smiled, but could not help but notice Lois holding his hand. " Probably the same thing you are. It's peaceful."

Clark noticed Lana's uneasiness so let go of Lois's hand. Lois excused herself and wandered off to see the paintings. She ensured she could still hear what was being said.

Clark looked at Lana. "You're two for two. You keep showing up when I least expect to see you."

" I'm not trying to surprise you, Clark."

" I know. It's just when you left, I wasn't sure when I'd see you again."

"Clark, It's funny, isn't it. After everything we've been through, I thought it would take us longer to get over it. "

Clark looked puzzled. " Us? "

" You and Lois."

For some reason Clark agreed. "Yeah me and Lois."

"How long have you two been together?" Lana asked trying not to sound jealous.

"just a few days." Lois walked in and announced. " but I feel like I have known him all my life. It was destiny." She said cuddling into Clark's arm and looking at him adoringly.

"Well, I have to go." Lana excused herself.

Clark looked at Lois with a look of panic. "What have we just started?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Clark, don't go off the deep end. Remember I am leaving in a few hours. Just tell Lana I left and we have broken up. Why not tell her it was a one night stand."

"Lois, that'll help considering Lana and me never..." he started to blush

"You mean you and the pink princess never got past first base. I bet she has with this new guy."

"Lois, while you're at college why don't you enrol on a course on 'subtlety' because you could use some."

"Sorry Clark, I am just winding you up. I have to go and pack."

Lois and Clark drove back to the farm. Clark was starting to think that Lana thinking he was going out with Lois was not a bad thing. At least that way Lana could think that he was not moping and she might get jealous making her face her real feelings for him.

Her dad was already waiting and was not impressed at her lateness.

"Sorry daddy." She said trying to worm back into his good books. "I know that I'm late. But I can still make it to campus for orientation."

" Save yourself a trip. Met U just yanked your acceptance."

" What? They can't do that."

"They can if you don't have enough credits to finish high school."

" Look, I know I missed a few classes, but..."

" Lo, you failed the last semester."

" Not to worry, though. I'm sure that Clark will be happy to show you around."

" Around where?" Clark and Lois said in unison.

" Bright and early tomorrow morning. You start Smallville High." Her dad announced as he smiled and got back in his truck. "I will check back in a few weeks to see how you are getting on. I checked with the Kents. You can stay with them." He drove off.

Clark glared at Lois. "That means we are going to have to keep up this boyfriend/girlfriend charade. No one will ever fall for it."

Lois saw an opportunity. "Well I guess we are going to have to convince them."

"and how are we going to do that." Clark asked.

"Guess, we'll have to practice." Lois walked up and planted a kiss on his unsuspecting lips.

Her kiss was just about to convince him to come around to Lois's idea when they were interrupted by a voice.

"So its true, is it?" Chloe snapped. Lois could hear the jealousy in her voice.

"Chloe, I can explain." Clark replied, caught off guard by the kiss.

"You left Lana in tears. She was hysterical." Chloe announced. "Hope you're happy."

Clark began to get annoyed. "Chloe, so what. Lana dated someone else in Paris. We split up. Am I supposed to wait until she gives me permission to date someone else. Well tough. Lois and me are a couple. She will just have to deal with it."

Chloe stomped off. "Well fine."

Lois looked at Clark in disbelief. "What's up with her. If I didn't know any better I would say she is in love with you."

"Lois, she is." Clark suggested.

"Whoops, foot in mouth time again. I will go and see her and set the record straight."  
>"Lois, give her a chance to calm down first. Anyway I was kinda getting used to us being a couple, even though we're not."<p>

"Are you going all soft on me, Smallville. Look I will keep up the pretence until the love of your life, Lana decides she is going to fight for you." Lois smiled.

"Ok, then. That may work as long as we don't kill each other first."

Next morning Clark and Lois went to Smallville High as an official couple. Clark insisted on holding hands as part of the act.

"Are you okay with me holding your hand, Lois?"

"Yeah, I'll put up with it."

They stopped at the lockers. "So you've got political studies now haven't you?" Clark asked.

Lois nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you after class. Meet you in the canteen for lunch. Keep me a seat."

He bent down and kissed her tenderly on lips. "See you."

She was starting to think that Clark was taking this too seriously, but she was quite disappointed to see the reason for the kiss was the close proximity of a watching Lana.  
>Clark could not work out what was happening to him. Did he kiss Lois to make Lana more jealous or because he wanted to.<p>

Both Chloe and Lana were giving him and Lois a wide berth. It was starting to upset Lois as it was starting to affect her relationship with her cousin. She needed to talk to Clark after school. They needed to 'break-up'. Then Lois got a phonecall that changed everything.

She found Clark in the loft.

"Clark, we need to talk. I've just had a call from the Dean. Lex Luthor has pulled some strings and got me in to Met U. Thanks for having a word with him."

Clark looked surprised. "It wasn't me, Lois. If I had to guess it was Lana."

"Mission accomplished. Lana is jealous and wants to get back with you."

"No, Lois. She is angry with me. I found out she is seeing Jason. He is the guy she met in Paris."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Probably, but Lois, I have finally realised that I don't want to be with Lana. We just hurt each other. I lied to her so many times. How can you lie to someone if you love them. Lana seems happy and settled for the first time in her life and I wouldn't want destroy that."

Lois was shocked at Clark's words. "You mean all of this act has been for nothing."

"Well, no. It helped me see you in a new light." Clark walked towards her.

Lois backed off, not wanting to start something she wouldn't be able to finish.

"Look Clark, I need to go. I will visit I promise."

Clark walked up and kissed her. "I'll be waiting." He said after he pulled away.  
>Lois walked off down the stairs, puzzled by what had just happened. What did he mean? Waiting for what...<p>

A few hours later Chloe came over to the loft to speak to Clark.

"Clark, hi..."

"Chloe, I thought you were avoiding me."

"Well, on the way to taking Lois to Met U, she told me all about your little deception to make Lana jealous. She said it started off as a small white lie that spiralled out of control."

"Did she?"

"You don't sound too happy. You need to sort this out with Lana, it is destroying you. You can't spend the rest of your life moping around."

"Look Chloe, you don't have any idea about my life."

"Whoa Clark, ease up on the mood. I am just trying to help. Lois has obviously got to you more than you like to admit. I know you don't get on with her so why did you agree to pretend to be in love with her."

"Leave it Chloe."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Lois told me she is relieved your charade is over. She said she found it hard to make your relationship convincing."

"Good night, Chloe" Clark snapped. She left.

He sat down considering what Chloe had said when he heard footsteps.

"So what's Smallville's star quarterback doing up here alone on a Saturday night?"

Alicia said, having just heard all of Chloe and Clark's conversation.

" Alicia"

" I'm kind of surprised you remembered my name."

Clark just looked at her. " How could I forget? You tried to kill me. And Lana. I'd ask how you escaped, but I guess that's pretty obvious."

" I didn't escape. They let me out. The doctors say I'm cured."

" I'm glad they think you're better. That doesn't change what happened between us."

" I know that, Clark. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything I put you through. You're the last person on earth that I ever wanted to hurt. But you didn't answer my question. Why are you up here alone on a Saturday night?"

Clark looked sad. " Maybe I prefer to be alone."

"I heard what Chloe said to you. Suffering from unrequited love are you. Lois doesn't love you."

"You know nothing about Lois and me, so don't even go there."

"My god, you've got it bad, haven't you?" Alicia remarked.

"You cannot saunter back into my life and expect us to take off where we left it. Alicia, I don't love you."

Alicia started to cry. "Clark, I'm sorry. I came here to say goodbye. I'm starting a new life in California. I made you this necklace whilst I was in Belle Reve to remind you of our time together. Would you mind wearing it so I can see it on you just once?"

Clark decided to put it on as a goodbye request from Alicia, what harm could it do?

He put it on – seconds later his eyes glowed red, the urges flowing through his veins. Alicia had a plan. She was going to destroy Clark and Lois's relationship for once and all. He had rejected her so she was going to make damn sure that Lois would never talk to Clark again. She touched his shoulder.

Clark found himself out Lois's dorm room in Metropolis University. He was now a man driven by his desires. He knocked on the door.

Lois answered. "Clark, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." With those words he marched through the door and grabbed Lois. He kissed her passionately and hard on the lips. He needed her.

Lois could not believe what Clark was doing to her. Her lips were swollen from the frenzied assault from his lips. She pulled away from him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" But she never waited for an answer. Her body needed more of him, in fact every inch of him.

"Lois, I have never desired anyone as much as I do you now." Clark groaned.

"Don't stop." Lois pushed Clark onto the bed, ripping at his clothes with every movement. Soon there were no clothes left to remove.

"Clark, I want you." Lois demanded as she rolled on top of him. He sat up to meet her mouth. Without thinking Lois removed the necklace. It dropped to the ground.

Clark came to his senses suddenly. He looked deep into Lois's eyes and realised what had almost happened. He didn't want it to be like this.

He jumped off the bed and grabbed his jeans. "Lois, I'm sorry I can't."

"Why not?" Lois screamed, frustrated..

"It's complicated."

"What's complicated Clark. It's sex. Are you scared?" The anger at his rejection made her taunt him.

"Lois, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." He ran out of the door and sped back to Smallville.

Clark got back to the farm and could not believe the scene. There were police cars everywhere with spotlights shining on the barn.

"Alicia Baker, Tim Westcott, come out with your hands up." The sheriff shouted.

Clark watched from a distance when suddenly there was a gunshot. He was so distracted by the noise that he did not notice Chloe approaching him. He super sped into the barn and he was shocked to see a man standing over Alicia's dead body. Before he could take the man out, the police opened fire.

Clark sped back to where he had been. By this time Chloe had hidden herself in some nearby trees. She could not believe the sight of Clark standing there with bullet holes in his jacket but he obviously not hurt. He was crying. Chloe wanted to go and hug him, but did not want him to know she was there.

Later that evening when the entire furore had calmed down, Sheriff Adams went into the farmhouse to question Clark. His parents were there to support them.

"I am sorry for the loss of your girlfriend. It seems Tim Westcott had made it his mission to get rid of all individuals who had committed 'evil' as he put it. Did you see Alicia tonight?"

"Yes about an hour before she died, she came to me in the barn and told me she had been released from Belle Reve."

"Well, she was lying. She escaped. Where did you go, to leave her alone in the barn?"

"Alicia transported me to Met U to see Lois Lane." Clark explained.

"Why Ms. Lane?" Sheriff Adams asked.

"I don't want to be rude but that is personal and I don't see what that has to do with your investigation." Clark remarked.

"Mr Kent, I am trying to ascertain what events led up to the shooting, but I will not probe any further. You are understandably upset by the death of your girlfriend."

"Sheriff, just one thing. She was not my girlfriend."

Sherriff Adams left; leaving Clark's confused parents in her wake.

"So Clark, do you mind telling us what Alicia sent you to see Lois for." His father inquired.

Clark was very upset. "Look dad, I don't know exactly. Alicia was jealous because she thought I had feelings for Lois. She knew Lois did not like me so she put a red kryptonite necklace on me and sent me to Lois's dorm room."

His mom looked at Clark. "Please don't tell me you and Lois did anything stupid. We know what you are like on Red K."

"No, mom, well almost..." Clark blushed realising he had given his parents too much information. "Look if you don't mind, I want to be alone."

"Remember you have that appointment to look around Met U tomorrow."

Clark arrived at Met U, after been driven by Geoff Johns, one of the top players from Met U. Chloe had offered him a ride but totally understood the change of plans. Clark had noticed Chloe looked pre-occupied that morning. No doubt Lois had told her of the events of the previous night.

Chloe had received a frantic phone call from Lois that morning, telling her that she had been arrested for paralysing a football player after an altercation the previous night. Chloe was glad when Clark turned down the lift to Met U. Firstly she needed to get to Lois and secondly she did not know what to say to Clark after seeing his bulletproof act last night.

Geoff and Clark were discussing the football team when the subject of Coop was brought up.

"Clark, did you hear about what happened last night."

"No, what?"

"One of our top players tried his luck with a freshman and got paralysed in the process."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Coop, one of our up and coming players. The girl who floored him was so drunk, she probably didn't realise her own strength. She kept going on about something happening with some guy and she needed to drown her sorrows."

Clark had an ominous feeling. "Who is the girl?"

"Lois Lane, you know her..." Geoff asked.

"You could say that." Clark announced. "Listen could you drop me off at the dorms. I need to see how she is."

"But Clark, they are waiting for you at the welcome party at the Team's Frat house."

"Look, I will meet you at the Frat house in 30 minutes." Clark promised.

Minutes later, he was standing outside Lois's door. He knocked.

Lois opened the door and promptly slammed it in his face. Clark pushed the door open. Lois was stood with her back to him.

"I heard what happened."

"I see news travels fast." Lois replied.

Clark explained. "The guy you put in the hospital is Geoff's roommate."

Lois turned around and looked Clark in the eye. "Clark, I swear to god, all I did was knock the wind out of him. I couldn't have paralyzed him."

Clark said " You were drinking, right?"

Lois snapped. "Clark, spare me 'your holier than thou' lecture. I needed a drink after last night."

"Lois, I need to explain my actions."

"Look... don't bother. It is pretty obvious you wanted some action and then decided I wasn't good enough."

Clark pleaded with her to listen. "Lois, it wasn't like that. Alicia came to the barn, drugged me and teleported me here. I did not know what I was doing when I came onto you."

Lois slapped him. "So you need to be drugged to sleep with me, do you?" she shouted.

"Why should I believe you? I guess I will just have to ask Alicia what happened."

"You can't." Clark sounded upset, but Lois was not letting up.

"Why not? In case your girlfriend gets jealous. She is the one who sent you to my room drugged. She is a real nutcase. Where is she now?"

"She's dead, Lois. She was murdered in my barn last night by a meteor freak."

Lois's face changed. She went up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh my god, Clark. I had no idea, I'm so sorry."

"Lois, I came here to see you were okay because I care, not to gloat." He looked at her with such sad eyes and left...


	3. Chapter 3

Clark arrived at the Frat house, only to be greeted by four scantily clad cheersleaders. Soon they were taking him up to a bedroom and pushing him on the bed trying to manhandle him. He was not interested by all this attention.

The other football players lapped up the worship but it did not interest Clark. The only thing that was on his mind was Lois. He needed to repair their friendship, if it was still possible.

Clark excused himself saying he had some business with Geoff. As he was wandering downstairs he heard raised voices coming from one of the rooms. He recognised one of them as being Geoff's. The door was ajar so Clark peeked in and saw Geoff putting his hand on the other player's shoulder. The player collapsed in a heap.

Clark was now convinced that Geoff was to blame for Coop's injuries. He went to tell Lois and Chloe about his suspicions. When he arrived at Lois's dorm, he found Chloe sitting at the desk with her laptop.

Chloe looked up. " Hey, Clark. Is something wrong?"

" I think Geoff paralyzed Coop."

Chloe looked amazed. "How did you work that one out?"

"I just saw him touch this kid, and he put him straight to the ground like he hit him with a stun gun. And the linebackers -they always say when they get stiff-armed by Geoff, they don't know what hit them. They go down to the turf every time. I think he has a meteor power."

"Lois will be thrilled. Now we just have to prove it."

"Where is Lois?" Clark asked.

"She has gone down the police dept to give more evidence."

Clark looked at Chloe. "I can't believe that Geoff uses his powers to gain advantage on the field."

Without thinking she remarked. "Well are you not doing the same thing?"

Clark's eyes were wide in disbelief. "Chloe, what do you mean?"

She tried to cover. "Nothing Clark..."

Clark could tell she was lying. " How long have you known?"

Chloe smiled. " I guess I've always had my suspicions. The quick exits, the miraculous recoveries, the lame excuses, but last night I saw you speed rather fast into your barn and come out covered in bullet wounds. That kinda confirmed everything."

"There were so many times I wanted to tell you." Clark announced

Chloe smiled. " Clark, I don't blame you. Loose lips sink ships and God knows I've sunk my share of flotillas. What about Lana? Does she know?"

"No she doesn't"

Chloe reassured him. "Well, I want you to know, your secret will never ever leave my lips. No matter what."

" I appreciate that."

"One thing Clark. Did you know where your powers come from?"

" Look, Chloe, there's a lot of things about me that even I don't understand. The meteor rocks-they didn't make me the way I am."

" So, you're saying you were born this way?"

" I wasn't born anywhere near Smallville. In fact, I wasn't born anywhere near this galaxy."

"But you...you look so..."

Clark finished her sentence. " Human?"

" I'm still the same person."

Suddenly Chloe's cell rang. Her expression changed to one of concern. She hung up.

" Clark, I think Geoff has Lois."

Clark panicked. "Where are they? We have to find them."

Chloe tracked Geoff's SUV down to an abandoned warehouse downtown. "Clark, go and get her. He sped off."

Clark found Geoff trying to get away in his SUV, so he stopped him.

He pulled Geoff out of the car. "Look Geoff, if you don't tell me where Lois is, I swear I will kill you." Clark's anger was boiling over.

Geoff was scared. "She's down there. "

Clark found her totally submerged in water. "Lois, can you hear me?" Lois?

Lois replied. " Clark!" She was very weak .

Clark held her tightly. "It's okay,you're gonna be okay." He could not bear to let anything happen to her. All these feelings were suddenly swirling around in his head. He needed Lois in his life...

Later that evening, Clark was mulling over the events of the past 24 hours. His thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Knock knock! You should think about putting up a door or something. I don't know, maybe it's a city thing, but where I come from, we like to have a little privacy." Lois gave a sheepish grin.

Clark smiled back. " Lois, who would've thought that I'd be relieved to hear your voice?"

" Clark, I don't know how you did it, but if it weren't for you, I'd be at the bottom of the Mississippi right about now. Thanks."

" I'm just glad you're okay and going back to school."

"I'm not. I got busted for the booze, and, well... that wasn't the first time I've been invited to the disciplinary board's kangaroo court."

" Why am I not surprised? You are heading back to the barracks, then?"

" Not an option. My dad's trying out the tough love approach and won't even return my calls."

"Where are you going to live?"

"I'm just gonna check into a motel, and when the money runs out, I can always sleep in my car."

Clark frowned at her. " If you want, I guess you could stay with us."

Lois didn't hesitate. She ran up and jumped into his arms. "You're a lifesaver. God, am I in need of a hot shower. Don't worry, Smallville. I'll try to keep it under a half-hour. By the way, Smallville, you're a good friend" she playfully punched him on shoulder.

Clark smiled to himself. What just happened? Deep down he knew he wanted more but if her friendship and constant needling was all that was on offer, he would take it.

Months passed Clark hated to admit it but he loved having Lois around the Farm. It was pretty obvious from her banter that she would never consider him as more than a friend. He didn't even mind sleeping on the sofa and letting Lois have his bedroom.

At least he had company downstairs now – Shelby. Clark loved having a dog around , much to the annoyance of Lois and her allergies.

Clark had heard that Lana and Jason had split up. Chloe was trying to tell him the whole tale about the breakup but he was not particularly interested. Well that wasn't until some stones were mentioned.

He realised Lana and Jason may know the whereabouts of the other stones He already had the crystal of fire but still needed the other two.

Clark was sitting one morning discussing his next course of action with his parents when the news was announced on a news flash.

_We've just confirmed that Dr. Virgil Swann passed away this morning. No details are being released. The reclusive billionaire will be remembered as one of the leading Philanthropists of his generation. Along with starting the Virgil Swann Charitable Foundation, he generously funded a wing at the Natural History Museum._

Clark was just letting the news sink in when Lois walked in with a letter.

"The courier just gave me this. Said it was really important. Is it ok to jump in the shower? That run has made me need one or I won't be responsible for the smell."

Martha nodded.

Clark opened the letter. It was from Virgil Swann

"_Kal-El, I wish I could continue this journey with you. But now you must seek out your father. If I sheltered you from him for too long, forgive me. Jor-El sent you here on a mission. He's the only one who can help you finish it. I am returning something that is rightfully yours. I know it will lead you to your destiny. If you reunite all the stones, your life will move in directions you never considere possible."_

In the parcel was one of the stones – the crystal of water...

Clark decided he had to go and see Lana to see if she had any ideas where the Crystal of Air was. He arrived at the Talon to see her and found her packing.

Clark smiled at Lana, "Going somewhere?"

" China. Or Shanghai to be precise."

" Are you serious?"

" And freaked out and mad and just about everything else you can possibly imagine."

" Lana, I heard about you and Jason. I am sorry things did not turn out the way you wanted."

Lana replied with a sarcastic tone. " Which part -the immaculate tattoo, the fact that I seem to be harboring a 16th-century witch, or that Jason and Lex took off with a map to uncover it all behind my back?"

Clark acted surprised. "Why would they do that?"

" I don't know, but Jason said that we were gonna figure this out together, but it turns out he has a rather limited definition of "we.""

" So you're gonna take off and fly halfway around the world just like that?"

Lana nodded. "Lionel Luthor made all the arrangements, and I'm taking the Luthor Corp jet. And I know, Clark, that I can't trust him. But he gave me the name of this professor that might be able to help."

Clark knew he had no choice. " Well, then I'm going with you."  
>Lana looked concerned. " I'm not gonna drag you into this."<p>

Clark replied. "I'm not letting you go alone."

Lana took this gesture as a sign Clark wanted to get back together with her. She was more determined than ever to get back with him, but only on her terms. He would have to be honest with her from now on in.

Clark went home to pack hoping his parents would be out because they would go mental if he told them about his plans.

He was relieved to find a note saying his parents had gone to the weekly barn-dance. He packed and was just about to sneak out of the door when Lois barged in.

She smiled and just took one look at the bag. "Where are you off to, Smallville?"

"I can't tell you."

"Please yourself but your parents will have to hear about this covert sneaking around you are doing." Lois joked.

"Look, Lois. Please don't tell my parents I am going away."

"Smallville, I don't know what your problem is, but you can't keep doing this to your folks. First you disappear for three months to god knows where, now you are leaving again."

"Lois, we are only going away for a few days."

"We...let me guess – the pink princess has snapped her fingers and you have gone back running."

Clark looked at Lois. "It's not like that."

"So it is Lana?"

"Yeah it is, but I am not getting back with her. It's complicated."

"Clark, from what I've heard, complicated describes your whole trainwreck of a relationship with her. Why go back for more?"

"I'm not going back. I never will." Clark announced.

"Why?"

"because..." he walked up to her and kissed her, releasing all his pent up feelings.

Then he pulled away and walked out of the door..

"Clark, um, I'm sorry. I feel like you're the only person in my life right now who doesn't have an agenda."

"Lana, whatever Jason's motives are, I'm sure he still cares about you. He seems like a nice guy."

"That still doesn't change the fact that everybody seems to know more about me than I do." Lana replied.

" It must be scary to think that someone out there has a plan for you, but you don't know what it is yet." Clark suggested.

"So what did your parents say about coming to China?"

"Nothing. I didn't tell them. I left them a message. Hopefully Lois won't bust me. She caught me packing and she thinks I am being irresponsible."

Lana smiled. "She has really gotten to you."

"You have no idea." Clark replied

"Does Lois know you are going away with me?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, she guessed. I always tell her she would make a good reporter. She is nosey enough." Clark grinned.

"Your parents will be mad if they find out we have gone away together. They may jump to the wrong conclusions."

Clark looked puzzled. "What conclusions?"

Lana moved herself so she was sitting next to him. Clark instinctively shuffled away from her.

"That we are back on..." Lana started to move her head towards his.

Clark jumped out of his seat. "Lana, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious." Lana said seductively.

"Look Lana, I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I don't want us to get back together."

Lana looked at Clark disgusted and then nodded. "Clark. I'm sorry. I understand you need some time after Alicia. Just don't wait too long. I may just find someone else."

Hopefully she would! Clark thought to himself.

The rest of the flight was a little tense and Clark was glad when they landed.

The trip certainly proved to be an adventure and have unexpected events especially the smack down with Isobel in Lana's body. Isobel could definitely kick ass. The important thing was that he had got the last crystal. He was about to hide the crystal in his pockets so Lana and Jason would not see it, but before he had a chance he was enveloped in a bright light.

Next thing he knew, he was in the Kawatche caves standing in front of the console. He put the last crystal into the space next to the other two. He found himself standing on a large glacier surrounded by snow and mountains.

He had a blue object in his hand, something in his head told him to throw it. He waited...

Suddenly large pillars of ice started to appear out of the snow and joined together to form some type of structure. He walked into the structure and as he did his Kryptonian father's voice boomed out

" Kal-El, you have come far. One journey has ended. A new journey is about to begin. Welcome, my son."

" I thought Krypton was destroyed!"

"It was, but here in your Fortress of Solitude, the geography of our planet has been replicated for your training."

"Jor-el, I know there's a lot I can learn from you, but I have to get home. That's where I'm needed."

"My son, you are needed on Earth more than you ever know. You can continue your training whilst living your life amongst the humans. Soon there will be someone on Earth who will need you more than anyone else. Things have happened. There were consequences. You have now proved that you are ready to face and deal with the consequences of your actions."

"what consequences? What actions?"

"You will know in the coming days. I trust you will do the right thing my son."  
>Clark found himself standing in the chamber where he had been. The crystal was no longer in his possession.<p>

Lana walked in. "Clark, are you ok? I'm so sorry about our fight."

"You weren't yourself, Lana"

"Lex and Jason are waiting for us to join them on the plane."

Clark was quiet on the flight home. He had not even noticed Lana being all lovey dovey with Jason. All he could think about were the words of his father. In some ways he was angry with Jor-el.

The past few years had been challenges after challenges. All he wanted was to be normal for a while, finish school in peace like his friends.

Clark got home late. He thought his parents would be in bed so he could have some respite from the lecture but he was wrong.

"Hi son, have fun in Shanghai." His dad asked.

"How did you know?"

"I went to the mansion and was informed by a smug Lionel Luthor that you had gone off with Lana."

"Guess I'm grounded, am I?"

"We are just disappointed that you did not tell us." Martha explained.

"Would you have let me go?"

"No..."

"So you and Lana are back on?" Martha asked.

"No, we're not. I'm not interested." Martha was taken aback. She was so used to hearing Clark pine for her that she assumed that is why he went with her.

"Oh, so why did you go?" Jonathan asked.

"The last crystal was there. I got it." Clark went on to tell his parents about the Fortress and the words of Jor-el.

Jonathan looked stressed. "When is Jor-el going to stop testing you. So have you got any clue what this challenge is or who needs you?"

"No clue, guess we will just have to wait and find out.." Clark replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Next morning, Clark was having breakfast. His parents had gone into town to do some shopping. Lois appeared from upstairs.

She saw Clark. "Smallville, you're back?"

"10/10 for observation, Lane." Clark replied.

"Missed me, did you?" Lois teased.

"Yeah I hate to admit it but I did."

Lois felt a pang of jealousy. "I bet the Pink Princess kept your mind off things."

"Lois, she is called Lana and we're history."

For some reason, Lois could not stop this flirtatious conversation that was building. Clark did not seem in a hurry to end it either.

"Really. I don't believe you. Prove it."

Clark got off his chair and walked over to Lois whilst never breaking eye contact with her.

"Ok then." He pinned Lois against the kitchen wall and started to kiss her neck. Lois was giving out little moans. Clark teased her with his lips, kissing her chin and working his way up to mouth.

Lois whispered in his ear. "Why don't we finish this upstairs. I bet Clark Jr would like that."

Clark was getting seriously hot under the collar. He couldn't say no. "Ok then..." He picked her up and was about to carry her upstairs when he heard a car pull up.

"My parents are here." Clark put Lois down and went to sit back down. Lois sat at the other end of the table.

Jonathan and Martha walked in. "Hi guys. Nice to see you are up Lois. I was wondering if you were still interested in taking that job at the Talon. If so there is a shift going until 10pm tonight."

Lois looked at Clark. He was like a eager puppy willing her to say no, but Lois knew she had to earn some money somehow. She did not exactly have a glittery career ahead of her after dropping out of Met U.

"Ok then. I'll just go and get ready." Lois ran upstairs.

She came back down, noticing Clark staring at her all the way down the stairs. "Listen Smallville." His ears perked up. "My car battery is gonna die soon. Could you pick me up from the Talon tonight. I will take my car into the garage in the morning."

Clark decided to play a game. "Lois, I'm still jetlagged. It's a bit late."

Lois glared at him. Jonathan interrupted. "Of course he will, Lois. Won't you Clark?"

"Looks like I have no choice." Clark put on a smile at Lois.

The shift at the Talon dragged for Lois. She was looking forward to Clark picking her up at 10pm. She thought it might take them longer to get home than planned.

Lana was home and so was Jason. They came down for a coffee and sat in the corner all giggly and all over each other.

"Lois, come over for a coffee." Lana gestured for Lois to join them.

"It's a little busy." Lois remarked.

"Lois, you can spare 10 minutes. I know the boss..." she said and then did one of those annoying laughs.

Jason excused himself. "Look, I have something to deal with. I will see you later. Enjoy your girlie chat."

Lois felt herself about to grimace and then stopped herself. "So how was Shanghai?"

"Interesting..."

"Why so." Lois inquired.

"Don't breathe a word of this but Clark tried to come on to me. He was quite persistent but I told him I wasn't over Jason yet. He was so upset."

Lois got up. "Look Lana, I have to get back to work, someone is waiting to be served." She was angry – either Lana was lying or Clark was coming onto any girl that moved.

At 9.30pm, Clark arrived early.

"You're early..." Lois remarked.

"I thought I would grab a coffee and help you lock up." Clark smiled.

Clark went to sit down on the corner sofa. "Lois, why don't you join me?"

"I don't think that is a very good idea in the circumstances."

"Why not?" Clark propped himself up.

"It seems you cannot keep your hands to yourself. First me and then Lana." Lois replied sharply.

"Lana? What has she been saying now?"

"She said you made a play for her on the plane."

"That's bull, Lois. I have told you I have no interest in her."

"Then why have you come on to me three times."

"Excuse me Lois. – first time I was drugged, second time was a kiss goodbye and if I remember rightly the third time you came onto me. 'Why don't we finish this upstairs' were your exact words this morning."

Lois blushed. "Well, maybe I did but I am wondering who to believe."

"Look Lois. I am not here to play games with your emotions. I spent enough time with Lana playing emotional cat and mouse and I won't allow us to do the same. Believe who you will! But just know one thing – I would love to date you, take things slow and see where that takes us, but you need to take that next step."

Lois looked at Clark. She could see in his eyes that he was pouring his heart out. She realised she had spent too long hiding behind the barriers she put up a long time ago.

She sat next to him. "Ok Clark, you're on."

Clark and Lois started to kiss each other but the minute it started to get heated, Clark backed off.

"Lois, I do want to take it further, but not yet. I am a bit old fashioned and you know I've never...you know... Can we just go out on dates and have some fun together without any pressure?"

Lois would have seen those words coming from any other man as rejection, but not Clark. He was just traditional and that is what she liked about him.

"Sounds like fun, Clark." She kissed him.

Thirty minutes later they were driving home, just passing Evan's field when they noticed some red lying in a ditch near the road.

"Clark, pull over."

The truck came to stop. Clark and Lois got out...

"Lois, be careful." Clark said as he saw Lois running towards the object.

Clark caught up to her and looked at the same thing that Lois was staring at.

"Oh my God, it's a baby." she announced.

There in front of them was a baby wrapped in a red blanket. "Clark, get the truck. We have to get the baby to hospital. Who knows how long it has been lying out here."

Clark went off. Lois bent down to pick up the baby up and a piece of paper fell out from the blanket.

Clark pulled alongside Lois and got out. He could see by the look on Lois's face that something was not right.

"Lois, what is it? I wonder what a baby is doing out here."

Lois turned and gave him a strange look. "maybe we should ask you."

"Why would I know." Clark asked starting to worry about the tone of her voice.

She handed Clark the note and read the few words...  
><em><br>Clark, Take care of your son. He is your destiny and your future..._

Clark gulped, realising this must be the challenge that Jor-el must be referring to.

Clark looked down at the baby boy. He had gorgeous blue eyes and he could not explain it, but he felt overwhelming love for this child, even he had no idea where he had come from or who is mother was, if indeed he was the father.

He held him. "Lois, could you drive us to the hospital."

Lois should have been confused and perhaps even angry but she wasn't. The sight of Clark and his son looking at each other was enough to melt her heart.

She would have questioned paternity but when she looked at the little baby closely, the resemblance left her in no doubt – he was Clark's.

"Of course I will, Clark." Lois replied.

They drove along the road in the truck. Lois kept looking at Clark out of the corner of her eye. She did not have a clue what to say. Who was the baby's mother and how could she leave the baby with Clark.

Lois did not know much about babies but had seen enough on daytime TV to work out that the baby was a few weeks old and that he must have been conceived during Clark's time away.

In the six months she had known Clark, she had never seen him so quiet and pensive, in fact he looked like he was in a state of shock.

"Clark, are you okay?" Lois asked, putting her hand on his knee.

He let go of his son with one hand and put his hand on top of hers. "Just a bit shocked to say the least. There are so many questions." He turned to Lois. "And you must have a few yourself."

"Clark, I do but you need to come to terms with what have happened first. I can wait. The main thing we need to do is get this little fella to Smallville hospital."

"Lois, thank you for being so patient."

Ten minutes later, they pulled up at Smallville hospital. It suddenly hit Clark that they needed to just get his son checked out quickly and get him out of there.

They went to the reception.

"Excuse me, could we get this baby looked at. We found him dumped by the side of the road."

"I'll have to take your details and then ring Child Protection Services." The nurse smiled.

"There's no need. I'm his father – Clark Kent." He said proudly.

Clark went onto explain that he had found a note with the baby. Clark explained he did not know the identity of the mother, as he could not remember being in a relationship. The nurse pointed them into a room and said the doctor would not be long.

Clark still had hold of his son. "Did you see the disapproving looks that nurse was giving me."

Lois laughed, "well, she probably thought that you had a drunken one night stand with the baby's mother."

"Maybe I did. I cannot remember it. Maybe this is Alicia's doing." Clark explained.

"Before we get into all that, can we give this little fella a name."

Clark smiled and started to think. For some reason a name just came to him and it would reflect the name of the house of El.

"Elijah Jonathan Kent."

"Whoa, how did you pick that name so quick."

"It just came to me." Clark smiled and looked at the newly named Elijah. "It may not matter anyway if his real mother comes along. She may already have a name picked out for him."

A doctor walked in. "Hi Mr Kent." He looked at Lois. "Would you mind if I talked to Mr Kent in private."

Clark smiled at Lois. "Lois, it's okay. Could you ring my parents and tell them I need them at the hospital. Tell them we found a baby, but don't give them anymore details."

Lois walked up and kissed Clark. "Ok, I'll be along the corridor if you need me."

"Mr Kent, I am Dr Emil Hamilton."

"Dr Hamilton..." he shook his hand.

"Call me Emil. So getting back to this little guy. Has he got a name yet?" Emil asked.  
>"Yeah he is called Elijah." Clark said proudly.<p>

"Before you start, Emil. I just want to know if my son is healthy. I do not want tests on him."

"Mr Kent, we both know that probably isn't possible anyway."

Clark looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I will tell you what I know. One night six months ago when I was doing a nightshift, I started to hear a voice. He called himself Jor-el, your father I believe. He told me that he needed me to help him cover up for baby Elijah's arrival on Earth. I honestly thought I was hallucinating but as time went on, I realised that I wasn't. He introduced me to a man called John Jones. He is a well respected detective at Metropolis Police Dept. Apparently he was sent to Earth to protect you and he uses his job to watch over you from a distance."

Clark was going to deny everything, but then he realised Emil was telling the truth.

"That's one hell of a story, Emil. Maybe you can tell me who the mother of the child is, then?"

"I did ask , but have been met with silence. Jor-el says the truth will be known when you are ready. Apparently his mother is human, so we do not know what baby Elijah will have in the form of your powers."

"So what now?"

"With John Jones influence in the police dept, we have forged a birth and death certificate for his mother. We can revoke this at a later date if need be. His mother was called Kyra Shaw, but she never existed. No one can trace her. You are named as a father on the birth certificate. The story you are gonna have to use is that you got drunk one night and got her pregnant."

Clark felt a little relieved. The last thing he needed was the police and children's services sniffing around baby Elijah.

"Here is a copy of the birth certificate." The phone rang.

"Listen Clark, your parents have arrived and are a little stressed to know what happened. You can have my office if you want some privacy."

Clark extended his spare hand. "Thanks Emil."

"We will be talking a lot more." Emil smiled and left.

Clark liked Emil and had no choice but to trust him.

Emil showed his parents in..

"Clark, are you ok? What happened?"

Clark turned around with baby Elijah in his arms. "Lois and I found him in Evan's field."

Jonathan looked at Clark. "He is gorgeous and he seems to like you, but I'm sure child services will be here to take him any time now."

Clark hugged Elijah tightly. "No they won't. Mom, Dad. I don't know how to say or even explain this, but I would like to introduce you to your grandson, Elijah Jonathan Kent.

Jonathan just looked at Clark. "Yeah right, Clark. It's not April Fools Day."

"Dad, look at him." Martha and Jonathan walked over and their face said it all.

"Oh my god, he is yours." Martha started to cry. Even Jonathan had tears in his eyes, alongside his look of confusion.

"How? I thought we had taught you to be more careful than that. Who is his mom?"  
>"I don't know..." Jonathan looked at his son with disappointment.<p>

Clark went on to explain all about Jor-el, Emil Hamilton and John Jones.

"Well that's quite a story Clark, but do you know how hard it is to raise a baby?" his dad lectured.

"No, I don't but I want to find out." Clark smiled.

"You won't be able to go out like normal seventeen year olds and your school work will suffer." Jonathan continued.

"Look dad, it doesn't matter to me, all that matters is Elijah." Just then, Emil came in.  
>Clark introduced his parents to him.<p>

"Clark, you can take Elijah home. I have brought some stuff you may need." Emil went to his cupboard and gave him a bassinette, car seat, milk, nappies and other things to keep Clark tided over until they got to the shops."

"Emil, we don't know what to say." Martha thanked him

"Clark, here is my number in case you have any problems. Call me anytime of the day or night. John says he will pop over tomorrow to introduce himself. It's going to be a steep learning curve but from what your father tells me you should be able to cope."

Clark and his parents left the room, arms full of baby stuff. "Lois, we're going home now."

Lois was amazed. "Where did you get all that stuff from?"

"Just a gift from the hospital, stuff they didn't need..." Clark tried to convince her.

"Remind me when I get pregnant to give birth here." She laughed.

"Look Clark, do you want us to take the stuff. You can drive Lois and Elijah in the truck. Take care with my grandson." Jonathan said, definitely softening.

Clark put his son in the Truck and carefully strapped him in the back seat. Lois sat in the back with Elijah.

"He is gorgeous, just like his father." Lois smiled. "What did the doc say?"

"Lois, can we talk about it later. I am so tired."

"Clark, forget later. Tell me when you are ready. As long as you know I am here for you and I always will be."

When they got home, his dad had already set up the bassinette.

"Look, what are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements." His dad asked.  
>"Elijah can sleep next to the sofa with me." Clark smiled.<p>

It was not until later that Clark realised it was a bad idea. He was up every hour with his son, pacing the floor. He had fed, winded him and still changed him but he still wouldn't settle. His mom and dad offered to help but he wanted to do it all.

Lois came down. "Clark, why don't you have the bedroom. It will be all the noises keeping him awake down here."

"Lois, I won't let you sleep on the sofa."

"I don't mind." Lois smiled.

Clark and Lois set up his bedroom for Elijah who sparked out for a few hours.

His mom and dad were waiting for Clark when he got up. "Look Clark, we want you to go back to bed and we will look after him."

Clark had dark bags under his eyes, and considering he didn't need as much sleep as humans, it must have been a bad night.

Clark was about to protest until he was pushed towards the stairs by his mom. He went up and collapsed on his bed. It took him a while to turn off his superhearing. He kept trying to get up to see to his son but was just too tired.

Seven hours later, he woke up. He felt so much better. He ran downstairs. His mom was in the kitchen. "Where is he?"

"Clark, look out on the veranda." Clark looked out to see dad looking adoringly at his new grandson. Even more amazingly, he was singing to him.

Jonathan turned around to see Clark.

"Come on, have a seat. We need to have a talk." He offered Elijah to Clark.

"No, its ok. He seems pretty settled with you." Clark smiled.

"I'm sorry for the way I went off at you in the hospital. I can see you are going to make a great dad. Ideally you should have waited until you were in a relationship and a little older, but that is not your fault."

"I wish I could remember what happened and how Elijah came about."

"Your mom thought that maybe you said something to Lois about the Elijah's mom when you met her. That could be why Jor-el wiped yours and Lois's memory. Maybe he didn't want you to find out what happened. Elijah was obviously conceived whilst you were Kal-el.

"That's what I thought dad, but there is only one person will be able to tell you about that."

Jonathan and Clark were interrupted by a car pulling up. A large dark skinned man got out of the car.

"Can I help you?" Jonathan asked,

"Hi Mr Kent, I am John Jones. I believe Emil told you about me."

"This must be Elijah. I can see Jor-el in him."

"You knew Jor-el." Clark started to get excited.

"Yes, I did Clark. I worked for him before Krypton was destroyed. He sent me to watch over you, something I have been doing for the past 15 years. Mr Kent, you and your wife have done a fine job of raising your son. He is a credit to you."

"Well, I hope so...So Mr Jones, are you Kryptonian." Jonathan asked.

"No, I'm from Mars."

"Of course you are..." Jonathan laughed. Elijah woke up and started to cry for his milk. "Clark, I'll give him his bottle. You two can talk."

John and Clark discussed their pasts and talked about Jor-el. Clark was thrilled that he had found someone who knew his father.

"John, do you know who Elijah's mother is? I need to find out. He needs her."

"No, I don't. Give Jor-el time to tell you when he feels the time is right. He must have his reasons for concealing the information."

"I have to get back to the police dept. Remember to contact me or Emil if you need any help."

"Thanks,"

Clark walked back in the house and found his dad asleep on the sofa with Elijah lying on his chest.

Martha smiled. "He is besotted Clark and so am I."

"I hope you and dad are still going away to Metropolis tomorrow like you always do." Clark announced.

"We don't feel we should."

"Lois is here and I have invited Chloe around to introduce Elijah. She has no clue." Clark remarked.

"It's lucky you are off for the summer now." His mom said.

"I know. I can spend the whole summer with Elijah before I start college. I am glad I have decided to go to Central Kansas. Luckily the course is only 15hrs per week."

"I proud of you Clark. You have taken on the responsibility of fatherhood so easily. I forget you are only 17 years old."


	5. Chapter 5

Elijah slept a bit better the following night, only waking up six times for a feed and diaper change. He still felt guilty about Lois having to sleep on the chair.

His parents left early the following morning for their annual anniversary sleep over in Metropolis. It took ages for his dad to drag himself away.

Lois decided to cook Clark a full breakfast as he had been up all night.

"Clark, breakfast's ready." Lois shouted.

Clark carried the bassinette downstairs. Lois went red. "Sorry I forgot about sleeping babies."

"It's ok, Lois." He smiled. "Thank you for going to all this trouble. What have I done to deserve a girlfriend like you." Clark paused suddenly. He realised what he had said.  
>"Clark, about that girlfriend thing..."<p>

"I know Lois. I understand why you'll want to break up. You never signed up for a relationship with a single dad."

"If you let me finish Clark. I was going to say that I would still love to give it a try if that's what you want. I realise that Elijah will come first but I want to get to know him. He's so adorable."

Clark kissed her. "Thanks Lois. I wish I had met you years ago..."

Lois smiled. "Then maybe I would have been his mom."

Lois and Clark decided to go for a walk as it was such a nice day. His dad had bought a buggy home the day after Elijah arrived.

"Lois, I am ready to talk." Clark grabbed her hand and pushed the buggy with the other.

"I'm all ears."

"I have Elijah's birth certificate and his mom is named as Kyra Shaw. Officially she is dead, but she is not a real person. I had to do this because I do not want child services snooping around and taking him off me." Clark really started to look emotional.

Lois squeezed his hand as he continued. "I still cannot remember sleeping with anyone, but then again my memories of my missing three months are hazy and as I am sure you are aware that is when Elijah must have been conceived."

Lois stopped him. "Thank you for sharing that with me and being honest. It means a lot. Being here with you two is the happiest I have been in a long time. I don't know why but I feel like I belong here with you two."

Clark gazed into her eyes. "I feel the same way, and wherever this journey with Elijah takes me, I want you to be part of it." He kissed her passionately. They were interrupted by a gurgle, a noise and a really bad smell.

"Do you think he is feeling a little left out." Lois laughed.

"How about we head into town and get some clothes for him tomorrow. I'll even treat you to dinner at the Talon."

"That'll be great Clark."

"What about Chloe coming?" Lois asked. "Do you want me there?"

"Of course I do. Shall we tell her we are together?"

"No, not yet. I think the baby is enough news for one day, Clark."

"I'll cook if you like." Lois suggested.

"On second thoughts, lets get Chinese." Clark laughed.

"Ok, I get the message. My cooking sucks!"

Chloe arrived early catching Clark off guard. Elijah was crying for his bottle, so he had to answer the door with his arms full.

"Hi Chloe."

Chloe just looked. "You didn't tell me you were babysitting tonight. Who does the cutie belong to?"

"Me, Chloe. This is Elijah Kent, my son. It's a long story so can I tell you over dinner."  
>"Please do!"<p>

Lois came downstairs. She had changed into her best jeans and nice top. Clark could not help but stare. She would have looked beautiful in a garbage sack.

"Hi Chloe, how's my favourite cousin?"

"A bit shocked, to say the least." Chloe said.

"Oh, have you told her already?" Lois smiled.

"Yeah, couldn't keep it to myself." Clark remarked.

"I must say he is the absolute double of you Clark, no doubt there."

"What are you doing with him?"

"He was sort of thrust on me. Lois and me found him with a note saying I was the father." Clark tried to make it sound like an everyday occurrence.

"If you don't mind me asking, how could a mother abandon her baby? Who is the mother by the way?"

"I don't know, Chloe. I cannot remember..." Clark said embarrassed by the way it sounded. "do you mind if we don't talk about it tonight. When I find out who it is you'll be one of the first to know."

The three of them enjoyed dinner and Chloe took very well to her role as aunty Chloe.  
>"He really likes you, Chloe." Lois laughed<p>

"Not as much as you Lo. If I didn't know any better I would say that you and Clark are starting to enjoy playing happy families." Chloe said when Clark was out of earshot.

"Well, Chloe. You do know better. I am not Elijah's mom." Lois whispered.

Chloe looked concerned. "What happens to you and Clark when his mom does decide to reappear. She will one day..."

"I know that Chloe. We will deal with one day at a time and cross that bridge when we get to it."

Chloe could not help but be worried for Lois.

Chloe left as Clark had given her the message by yawning constantly.

"So, Lois. Are we going to hit the shops in the morning?"

"Clark, there is no way you'll be able to hit the shops unless you let me help you with the feeding tonight."

"Ok." He kissed her.

Lois fell asleep quickly. The sofa was actually more comfortable than it looked. She had just started dreaming about diapers chasing her when she heard a cry. She crept upstairs but Clark was already awake.

She gazed at him. He was in his pyjama bottoms but with no top. He looked so adorable, but then again there was always something about seeing men with their baby.

"Clark, can I help. Problem is by the time I get up here, Elijah wakes you up." She looked at the bed. Maybe she had come up with a solution.

"Listen I have a plan. Don't take this the way it sounds but would it will be easier if we sleep together." Lois smiled.

Clark looked at her. It took him a while to realise that she did mean sleep rather than anything else. Lucky for him because he was so tired.

"Are you sure you are comfortable with this?" Clark asked.

"I'm only doing it for Elijah you know."

Lois climbed in bed with Clark. "No spoons, Clark." She warned him and then smiled.

"Of course not! How would you even think I would do something like that"

Elijah slept for four hours and soon Clark and Lois were cuddled up in bed together.

Lois woke up first when he started crying. Clark stirred, smiled at Lois who got up and fed him. Soon Elijah was content and off back to sleep.

"You're a natural, Lois." Clark smiled. "just wait until you have babies of your own."

Lois brushed off his comment, "I have never been the maternal kind. Lucy just got on my nerves most of the time. I am only this way with him because he is not mine. I will not make a good mom." She looked sad.

Clark rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Well, I think you would and I wish you were his mom."

He had not intended to say that. "Do you mean it that?" Lois asked surprised.

He did not hesitate. "Yes I do, Lois."

They were soon both back in the land of dreams.

Clark woke at 8am to the sound of Lois in the shower. He looked at Elijah who was fast asleep in his basket. He knocked on the door. "Lo, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Clark, could you come in." She shouted.

He pushed the door open. "Clark, could you wash my back."

Clark gulped and grabbed the sponge that Lois was offering him. "Are you sure?"

"Clark, I'm only asking you to wash my back, not make mad passionate love to me?" Lois joked.

She had lovely subtle skin. He started to kiss her in the small of the back. "Don't stop." Lois moaned.

He started to work his way down when suddenly he could not believe his eyes. Lois had a mark on her lower back. He had never noticed it before. He felt all the color drain from his face and he went dizzy.

"Lois, what's this mark on your back." Clark managed to get the words out.

"It's a birthmark – a family heirloom apparently. My mom had one and Lucy does too."

"So its just passed through the female line is it." Clark asked.

"No, my maternal grandfather had one apparently – why do you ask?"

"Just never noticed it before."

Lois groaned. "Clark, please don't let it stop you.

"Lois, I'd better check on Elijah." Clark walked out the room. He went over to his son who was asleep on his front. He lifted his babygro. There it was, an identical mark to Lois's. He panicked.

His head was swirling, already making up excuses to give to Lois as to why Elijah had an identical birthmark. However his heart was telling him his son needed a mom and if Lois was his biological mom, then she had a right to know. Clark had no right to deny his child a mother.

In an ideal world., Lois would have been his mom ayway. After all what could be better than sharing your life with the woman you love and our child.

How could Lois be his mom? He only met Lois six months ago and she was never pregnant.

He needed to go and talk to Jor-el and demand to know what was going on.

"Lois, I have just had a call from Ben Hubbard. He needs help with something for an hour or so. Could you look after Elijah?" Clark asked Lois as she wandered across the bedroom.

"Look Clark, I will but when you get back we need to talk about what just happened in the bathroom. Why did you back off?"

Clark smiled and went up and kissed her as he left. "I promise I will explain everything when I get home."

"Talk about blowing hot and cold," Lois said to herself.

He went to the caves and put the key in the console. He then found himself in the Fortress.

"Jor-el we need to talk."

"What is it my son?" the voice boomed across the structure.

"Is Lois Lane the mother of my child." Clark demanded to know.

There was silence for a few minutes. Clark waited for a response, but he would not leave the Fortress until he had an answer.

"My son, there are many questions that I need to answer for you and I will when you are ready."

"Jor-el, you thrust a baby on me without warning. You give me no clues as to how the baby came about. I need to know now."

Jor-el defended himself. "I sent Dr Hamilton and John Jones to provide support for you."

"Yes, you did and I appreciate that, but Elijah needs a mother."

There was silence again, then... "Lois Lane is the mother of your child."

Clark knew deep down she was but was still shocked by the revelation.

"Jor-el, how did it happen? I only met Lois Lane six months ago, she was never pregnant."

"Kal-el, the gestation for a Kryptonian mother is only 5 months. The fact the baby is half human must have lengthened the pregnancy."

"So why wasn't Lois pregnant.?" Clark asked.

"As soon as I realised Lois Lane was carrying your child, I took the foetus from her and raised it in an artificial environment. I was worried that a human would not be able to carry a Krytonian baby and this baby is the heir to the house of El. I would not risk that. Do not worry, the baby has not been affected by this process. I do not know however how the hybrid nature of the baby will affect its growth and abilities."

"But when was the baby conceived?"

"Your son was conceived during a brief union between Kal-el and Lois Lane during the 24hr period you cannot remember."

Clark was worried about the way he may have acted towards Lois when he was Kal-el.

"Jor-el, did Kal-el force himself on Lois? I need to know..." Clark asked nervously.

"Even as Kal-el you would not act in such a way. You may not have had human values but were still governed by Kryptonian values. Kryptonians are not barbarians. Lois Lane consented to the act."

With that Clark was transported back to the cave...

He needed to think quickly.

When Clark got back to the farm he was devastated to see Chloe's car in the driveway. He needed to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

"Hi Clark." Lois smiled as she saw Clark come through the door.

"Where's Elijah?" Clark asked, trying not to sound stressed.

"He is upstairs with Chloe."

"Lois, I need to talk to you in private. Can we go for a walk?"

"What about Chloe?"

"We need to get rid of her." Clark announced.

"This is important isn't it."

Clark nodded just as Chloe was coming downstairs. "Hi Clark. I am sure this kid gets cuter by the moment."

"Just like his dad," Lois joked. "Listen Chloe, could you pop into town for some diapers for me. My car is still on the blink and Clark still needs to help out Ben Hubbard."

Chloe smiled. "Of course. Anything for my nephew..."

Clark put Elijah in his buggy and they headed off for a walk. Clark had brought a blanket and some drinks. He set the blanket down and asked Lois to come and sit down.

"Right Lois, don't freak..."

"Clark, when you say things like that, I can't help but freak."

Clark lifted Elijah's t-shirt up revealing his birthmark. Lois just looked, unable to speak from the shock.

"Lois, you are Elijah's mother." Clark said seriously.

"Yeah right, How can I be. I have never been pregnant."

"Lois, I need you to listen to the whole story. The meteor shower in Smallville was not a freak of nature, it was caused by the destruction of a planet called Krypton which was galaxies away. There was an infant arrived during the shower from Krypton in a spaceship. He was sent by his parents as the soul survivor. He was found and raised by humans and has special powers caused by the Earth's sun."

Lois stared at him, but not in disbelief, rather amazement. "It's you, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"I don't know but there is something different about you that I have never been able to put my finger on. You and your parents always seemed to have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"Yes it is me. I am an alien. Although I am the only survivor from my planet, I do have access to an artificial intelligence based on my father's personality, knowledge and memories. He has put me through constant challenges for years, and last year for those three months he took away my human side, Clark if you will, and turned me into Kal-el, the Kryptonian side of my personality. Kal-el does not have much sentiment for human feelings. Apparently Kal-el and you decided you were attracted to each other and you acted on these feelings."

Lois looked. "You mean I had sex with someone I had just met. That is so out of character for me."

"I have just been to ask my father what happened and apparently you were just as happy to take part as Kal-el was. It must have been one hell of a physical attraction." Clark remarked.

Lois smiled, "That would explain it. Since we met, I have felt a physical pull towards you."

"So basically, Elijah is mine genetically but conceived when I was Kal-el, and he is yours. When Jor-el found out you were pregnant he took the foetus and let it develop in an artificial environment. Apparently half Kryptonian babies develop faster than human ones."

"Lois, I know you may not believe this but I have arranged for you and Elijah to have genetic testing at the hospital tomorrow. There are still lots of questions I cannot answer. If you want time alone to digest all this information, I understand."

Lois looked up at him. "There is nowhere else I would rather be than here with you and our son." She kissed and hugged Clark.


	6. Chapter 6

Clark and Lois decided to keep this new development a secret from his parents, who were back at the farm on their return. They agreed to tell them when the DNA results were back.

"Hi, how is my favourite grandson." Jonathan asked as he walked over to the buggy.

"He's fine dad. I'm sure he missed you both, we did." Clark offered.

Elijah started to cry and without thinking Lois went and got him and took him in the kitchen to feed.

"So were there any problem whilst we were away."

Without lying Clark replied. "You were only away one night."

Lois finished feeding him and got him dressed to go into the town. Smallville had not exactly moved with the times in terms of buggy access so Clark put him in a baby carrier and strapped him to his chest.

Elijah seemed to enjoy the new vantage point. He smiled for the first time, then again it could have been wind.

There was not exactly much in the way of baby shops but it was nice to have a change of scenery. Clark and Lois were stopped by loads of people, asking who the baby belonged to. They just muttered something about being Lois's nephew.

No-one really knew Lois in town so when it was confirmed she was the mom, there would be no problem passing the story that Lois did not put on much weight during pregnancy and left town to give birth. It would however be a different story to convince people like Lana and Lex.

They bought a few items and then headed to the Talon for lunch. Clark had commented that he was not bothered if they bumped into Lana and Jason.  
>They walked in the door and found Lana sitting at one of the tables talking to Jason.<p>

Within seconds the baby strapped to Clark's chest had attracted her attention. Her expression was priceless. It was pretty obvious that Clark was the father.

Lana flew over. "Hi Clark, who is this little cutie." Elijah looked at her, scrumpled his face up and started to cry.

"This is Elijah Kent."

"I saw the family resemblance. Is he your cousin's"

"No Lana, he's mine." Clark announced proudly.

"How did that happen?" Lana asked, shocked by his announcement.

"Shall I draw you a diagram, Lana." Lois intervened.

"No, of course not. Who's mom?"

"Lana, what is this 20 questions? Now we came here for a quiet lunch if that is ok." Clark explained.

"Sorry, I'm just shocked to see you having a baby. You are only 17yrs old. Do you really want to get tied down that young."

Clark stayed calm. "Now if you will me excuse Lana. We are going to be having a quiet family lunch."

Clark and Lois sat down. They had not realised his mom was on shift. "Hi mom, what are you doing here."

"Ally rang in sick so I'm covering. Take a seat and I'll bring your order over."

Lois and Clark knew they could not give away their secrets to his mom, but could not help sit closely together. Martha had guessed there was something going on between them and had told Jonathan while they were in Metropolis. He was not convinced and told Martha she was imagining things because she wanted them to get together.

"So Clark when do we have to be at the hospital tomorrow."

"About 10am, but it is at his private office of Dr Hamilton in Metropolis not the hospital. We can trust him as he has been recruited by my father to take care of Elijah. The hospital may get suspicious if they do tests on him. Last time they got my blood, it caused a whole lot of bother."

"Do I have to give blood?" Lois asked, not wanting to admit to her needle phobia.

"No, it is just a swab from the inside of your mouth and same goes for the little man here, although he will probably try to eat it." Clark grinned.

"Does Dr Hamilton know who you are bringing?"

"No I didn't go into specifics."

"By the way Clark, disregard what I said about not wanting to be a mom. I want to be Elijah's mom more than anything in the world. I am nervous but excited to find out."  
>They left early for Metropolis. They would have ran there but Clark did not know what the effect on the baby would be.<p>

As they sat in the waiting room at Dr Hamilton's private offices, they sat discussing Elijah. He was pretty much the main topic of conversation at the moment.

"So have you seen any evidence that Eli has powers." Lois asked, shortening his name without thinking.

"l haven't. I like the shortened name by the way." Clark smiled.

Emil soon bustled past them. "I am so sorry for being late. I stayed up late writing a thesis for my third PhD in astrophysics."

"Guess you liked school then, Dr Hamilton."

"Please call me Emil." He smiled. "so Clark where is the lady you think could be the biological mother."

"You're looking at her, Emil." Lois smiled.

"Oh I see. What led you to this hypothesis." Lois lifted her top much to the embarrassment of Emil.

"Guess all that studying doesn't lead to much time spent with the opposite sex." Lois replied.

"Guess not, Ms Lane."

"Please call me Lois."

"You may be wondering why we are flashing Lois's back at you." Clark commented, as he showed Emil the identical mark on Eli's back.

Clark went on to tell Emil him about what Jor-el had said.

Emil got the swabs and took the samples.

"So how long will it be until we get the results." Clark asked.

"I will have them back by the morning. Meet me at the hospital in Smallville at 11am. I am on shift."

"Ok doc..."

Clark, Lois and Eli left the office. Since they were in the city they decided to grab some baby clothes. They had some funny ideas back in Smallville about what was fashionable for babies. After a few hours they drove back to the farm.

"Where have you two been?" Martha asked.

"Sorry mom, we went in to Metropolis to do some shopping for Eli." Clark explained.

"Clark, could you go and give your dad a hand fixing the tractor."

"Yeah..."

"I'll look after Eli." Lois said eagerly.

Martha made a cup of coffee and asked Lois to sit down.

"Lois, we haven't had any chance to talk really since Eli came into our lives. How are you coping with the sleepless nights."

"Fine, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Eli as if he was my own."

"I can see that Lois, and I can also see how much you love Clark."

Lois was taken aback and was going to deny it but didn't. "How did you know?"

"I'm not blind, Lois" Martha laughed. "It is obvious you have deep feelings for each other."

"I do, Mrs K. He is the most amazing man I have ever met and seeing him with Eli has made me fall deeper." Lois gushed.

"Is it serious?" Martha asked. "I don't mean to pry."

"We are just taking it slowly at the moment, seeing where things go. After all, Eli is the most important thing."

"Lois, you are so selfless. Most women would be jealous of a baby encroaching on their newly formed relationship, but not you. You just take it in your stride."

"How could anyone be jealous of a baby. That does not make any sense to me."

"I'm so glad he found you. I just wish we knew who Eli's mom was, because everytime I hear the door I think it could be her, coming to take him back."

"Try not to worry about that, Martha. Things will work out okay in the end."

Clark came back in and Lois was just getting dressed . "Look Clark, I have to go to work. Do you want to walk me to the car." Lois smiled.

They walked to the car. "Lois, I'll miss you. I may be in bed when you get in. If you feel like a little company and my parents are not around, you know where I am." He winked and kissed her.

Lois drove off. He turned around to see the face of his father. His expression told him that his dad had seen everything.

"Since when did you and Lois take to creeping around at night." Jonathan asked in his stern fatherly voice.

"Dad, we would have told you and mom. We just needed to see where things were headed."

"Son, do you not think you have enough on your plate taking care of Elijah."

"I love her dad. I love Eli too. I think we could be a family."

"Aren't you forgetting the little point of Elijah's mother. She will come back on the scene at some point and if she does, how will Lois cope if Eli is taken off you."

"Nothing like going for the jugular. " Clark said in a sarcastic tone. "Things will work out, trust me."

Jonathan walked in the house and looked at Martha. "Ever had the feeling that something is going on behind our back."

Martha nodded and smiled. "We need to trust him Jonathan."

The Talon was pretty quiet that afternoon, but not quiet enough for Lana not to appear for a coffee.

"Hi Lois, I see you've finally detached yourself from Clark's hip."

"What is that supposed to mean, Lana?"

"well you seem pretty cosy with him since Elijah came along. Using a baby to get to Clark smacks of desperation. He will see right through you."

"Lana, I don't know what your problem is, but you don't know the first thing about me, Clark and Eli."

"I can guarantee that as soon as the baby's mom comes back on the scene, Clark will go back running. He is so naive and takes chivalry to the extreme. He will make it work with her just to satisfy his craving for a family."

"Since when did you take a degree in Psychology... Lana, I would be happy if Clark made it work with Eli's mom."

Lana was puzzled. Lois smiled at her. "I'm gonna get back to work now if that is ok with you."

Clark decided to stop by and see Lois with Eli. He was missing his mom. Clark had already decided that even in the unlikely event that Lois was not the biological mother, he wanted her to be Eli's 'mom'.

Clark walked in the Talon and looked for Lois. The counter was busy so he waved at her and went over to grab a seat. Eli was asleep again. Lex walked in and took a double look at Clark.

"Hi Clark, what's with the new accessory?"

"You mean Eli. He's my son."

"How did that happen?"

"It's a long story and I don't have time to talk about it now. I came to have lunch with Lois."

"I heard about you and Lois. I must say I am a bit shocked."

"Is it the real thing?" Lex asked.

"Yeah definitely. She is the one."

"How does she feel about taking on a baby?"

"Lex, its not as straight forward as it seems and again that is a story for another day."

Lois brought Clark a coffee and a bottle of formula for Eli. Lex stood up and excused himself.

"Hi Lois, hard day. Take your shoes off." Clark announced.

Clark started to give her the most amazing foot massage. "Clark, please don't stop."

Ten minutes later, they were interrupted by a cry. "I'll give him his bottle." Lois smiled.  
>"You're definitely mommy material, Lo." Clark smiled. "I can't wait until tomorrow."<p>

Lois had to go back to work eventually. "So Lois, come and keep me company tonight.  
>I will set the alarm so you can be back downstairs before my parents get up.<p>

"Ok, see you later."

Clark and Eli were fast asleep by the time Lois got home. She crept quietly but still managed to hit the loose floorboard next to Clark's room. His parents did not stir. She climbed into bed with Clark. He moaned and put his arm around her.

Next thing they knew there was a knock on the door. The clock had stopped at 4.23am.

"Clark, its 9.30am." his mom announced through the door. Clark sat up rigid in bed. They needed to leave for the hospital soon to see Emil. Lois started to wake up.

"Mom, I'm coming." Clark shouted.

"What do you want to do, Lois? They will probably have guessed."

Lois and Clark smiled at each other and walked out of the room downstairs together.

"Morning mom." Martha just smiled.

Clark looked at her. "you knew..."

"I'm not stupid Clark." She grinned . "I have seen the glances and the touches when you think no-one is looking. Lucky your dad is out. That may take a bit more explaining."

"What do you two want for breakfast?" Martha asked.

"Actually mom, we need to go out. We have an appointment at the hospital. Emil thinks he may have some clues about who the mom is. We will tell you everything when we get home."

The drive to the hospital seemed to take ages. Both of them were so nervous. Luckily Emil did not keep them waiting this time.

"Hi guys." Emil said as though they were old friends.

Clark and Lois smiled back but were eager to get the results.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase. Lois is Eli's mom. 99.99% sure." Emil smiled.

Lois hugged Clark and looked at Eli. "I'm your mom." Eli smiled properly for the first time.

"Did you see that, Clark. He smiled."

"Well he's obviously just pleased that he has found his mom."

Emil gave them the new updated birth certificate. "You are going to have come with some plausible reason as to how you met Lois during the time you went missing and how she fell pregnant. People will not believe a six month pregnancy with a baby as big as Elijah."

"yeah I know, but first we have to tell my parents and Chloe."

When Clark and Lois arrived home, they found his mom and dad having a coffee.

"Mom, dad, can we talk?" his face portrayed the seriousness of the subject he was about to address.

"Clark, what is it?"

"Look I know you are unsettled about me and Lois getting together but there is something you need to know." He handed them the birth certificate.

Jonathan jumped to conclusions. "I know you have strong feelings for Lois, but you can't make her the mom of Eli, as much as you want her to be."

Lois was looking nervous. "Mr Kent. You don't understand..." she gave him the DNA results.

"You have done your homework. How on earth did you convince the doctor to forge DNA results?" Jonathan asked.

Martha intervened, "Lois, you are his real mom, aren't you?"

Jonathan looked at Lois's face and realised that she was telling the truth.

"Yes, Martha. I am. I got pregnant six months ago when I met Clark. When his father found out, he took the baby off me and raised it in artificial environment."

"How is that possible? How could he sustain a baby for six months." Martha asked.

"Mom, it took me almost three years to get to Earth, so how did I survive the journey."

"Even more puzzling is what you and Lois were doing getting that friendly when you only just met." Jonathan asked.

"Dad, neither of us can remember. Apparently I was Kal-el and it just sort of happened."

Lois was bright red. "Do you mind if Chloe comes over. I wanna tell her."

"Chloe, who else knows about your secret?"

"That's all dad, I promise. I trust Chloe with my life. She saw me using my powers the night Alicia died."

"Are you mad?" Clark asked.

Tears appeared in his dad's eyes. "How can I be. If this hadn't happened, we wouldn't have Elijah in our lives and whilst you are both young, I would not change anything for the world."

Clark thought he would take advantage of his dad's good mood. "Dad, does this mean that Lois and me can share a room."

"Clark, don't push your luck. Your mom and me will talk about it." His dad announced.

Chloe arrived all flustered. "What's the emergency?"

"Chloe, Lois is in the barn, she has something she wants to tell you." Clark said in a flat tone trying not to give things away.

Two minutes later, they could hear the screams coming from the barn. They were screams of excitement.


	7. Chapter 7

_Kal-el was free. The spectre of Clark Kent was no longer hanging around his neck. His father had made sure he had no distractions, no human emotions to burden him. He felt like a Kryptonian for the first time in years. He wanted to continue his time with Jor-el but now he had been returned to the Earth._

_He had one mission to complete then he could return to his training. Nothing would stand in his way, including these pathetic humans who stressed about nothing of importance.___

_He found himself lying in a middle of a field, completely naked. As his eyes began to focus he noticed two white lights shining through the grass. Then he heard a rustle. He would not let someone stop him._

_In the distance he saw a brown haired woman staring at him with a shocked look on her face._

_She had a strange habit of talking to herself, something about focusing on the face.__  
>She seemed concerned about him, strange considering they had only just met. Maybe this was just another human emotion. Kal-el told himself he did not care but still asked.<em>

_"Who are you?"_

_"Lois...Lois Lane." The woman replied._

_What the hell was going on? Lois thought to herself. Here she was driving along the road trying to find some nicorette gum and next thing she knew she was being struck by lightning. Now here she was standing in a field talking to a naked man who did not seem to know his own name.___

_If Lois didn't believe in sexual attraction she did now. This mood wasn't helped by the fact she had looked down. She hadn't intended to but something made her and she wasn't disappointed. Some parts of his anatomy were definitely out of proportion, she laughed._

_It was strange, here was this man acting all strange with her, completely naked. Normally she would have dialled 911 but something was drawing her to him, and it certainly wasn't his conversation and wit.___

_Lois smiled at him. "I've got a blanket in the trunk." There was just a deadpan look from him._

_She went and got the blanket and threw it to him. He wrapped it around himself._

_"Are you ok? You look kinda spaced out. I'm taking you to the hospital."_

_"No."_

_"Look fella, I'm not taking no for an answer. Jump in the car." Lois ordered._

_He barely listened to his father sometimes so why was he listening to this Lois Lane person. Inexplicably he did as she asked.___

_Lois tried to reverse out of the field but the car couldn't get enough traction. The guy got out and the blanket dropped off as he did so. He's going to be the death of me, Lois thought to herself._

_Next thing she knew the guy had pushed the car into the road. Not only did he have a fine body, he could use it._

_He climbed back in the car, wrapping himself in the blanket again. Lois breathed a sigh of relief.___

_"So, do you know your name yet?" Lois asked._

_"No, I don't, Do you always ask so many questions?" The man asked._

_"Only when I'm nervous."_

_"Do I make you nervous?"___

_"No, not really except seeing0 you with no clothes on makes me a little nervous."___

_"What is this fascination you people have with naked bodies." Kal-el asked._

_"You people..." Lois was getting angry. "What sort of person do you think I am."_

_Kal-el did not reply.___

_"You're not very talkative." Lois remarked._

_"I only talk when there is a purpose." Kal-el replied in an unemotional voice._

_Lois had no clue where or even if there was a Smallville hospital. She had obviously taken a wrong turn because the road had turned into a muddy track._

_"I'm lost. Any ideas."_

_"We could stop here and you could talk at me more." Kal-el suggested._

_She got out of the car and walked away from the trees until she got a signal. She was about to dial the number when she turned around, then promptly dropped her cell. Kal-el was standing within inches of her and had managed to lose his blanket again._

_He just stared at her for what seemed like minutes and then finally he spoke.__  
>"Am I making you nervous."<em>

_Lois started to breathe heavily, somewhat stifled by the proximity of this gorgeous man. Then for some reason she tilted her head and kissed him._

_For the first time ever Kal-el was out of control of his actions. His body was responding to Lois Lane's approach. He was starting to get feelings of pleasure from her actions so he deepen the kiss. Then his body just took over.___

_He laid her down onto the blanket that had fallen around his feet, never breaking contact. He lay on top of her careful not to put too much of his weight on her._

_Lois could not believe a few minutes ago, that she was driving along the road, and now she had this stranger pressing down on her chest with his body. It was obvious he wanted to go further and she had no intention of stopping him.___

_For the first time in weeks, she felt her feelings of loss and despair being replaced by feelings of passion and desire. This was not lovemaking, this was pure lust driven by their needs.___

_Afterwards Kal-el got up and held her hand. He walked her back to the car. They got in and drove off. They said nothing more, their actions had done all the talking._

_Finally they made it to the hospital. Lois walked in with Kal-el to the desk and started to explain the unlikely tale that she had found him with no memory, lying naked in a field. Suddenly she felt woozy. The room began to spin. She collapsed._

Clark and Lois both sat upright in bed, covered in sweat and looking at each other in confusion. They looked over. Elijah was fast asleep in his cot by the side of the bed

"Lois, I have my memory back."

"So do I Clark?"

Their looks said it all.

Clark and Lois just sat up in bed and looked at each other.

"I'm assuming that you had the same dream as me." Clark asked, knowing this was Jor-el's doing.

Lois told Clark what she had dreamt about and it matched what Clark had experienced.

"Well I guess we know how Eli came about." Clark suggested.

"Guess, so. I'm sorry our first time together was not with you, if you see what I mean. I must have been extremely physically attracted to you."

"Lois, I wouldn't have it any other way. We have Eli and we still have 'our' first time to look forward to."

"Clark, you are so old fashioned. I love it."

Lois and Clark kissed each other and went back to sleep.

Clark woke up early the next morning. He had to go to Central Kansas University for an interview.

Lois sat at the breakfast table. Martha sat down. "Martha, do you fancy spending the morning in town with Eli and me."

"I'd love to." She smiled back.

"Well I have to go now. Wish me luck." Clark smiled.

"Good luck." Lois kissed him.

Martha and Lois drove into town for a coffee. Unfortunately there was only the Talon that served a decent latte, so they ended up going there. No doubt Lana would be there.

Lana was straight over the moment, Martha walked in with Eli. Lois had just wanted to pop to the drugstore for some items.

"Hi Martha, where's Clark?"

"He's at CKU for an interview."

"So you've been dumped with the baby."

"No, Lana. Lois is with me." Martha replied.

It had all been discussed in the past few days and it was decided not to keep the Lois-Eli connection a secret anymore. Everyone knew what the 'story' would be to cover up for the fact Lois was never pregnant. However Martha was not going to be the one to make the announcement.

"I hope I'm not speaking out of turn but does it not worry you that Lois is using your grandson to get to Clark." Lana announced.

"No, Lana. Lois doesn't need to use Eli. He is madly in love with her, regardless of Eli." Martha explained.

"Well if you ask me, Clark is only with Lois because I'm not available and thinks his baby needs a mom."

"Lana, I am not asking you. I would be grateful if you could bring me two latte's."

Lana stomped off. Lois came in. Eli's face lit up the minute he saw her.

Martha handed Eli to Lois. "He definitely knows who his mommy is."

"I'm glad. I always thought you would have to carry a child to bond with it properly." Lois hugged Eli.

Martha gave a knowing smile. "Jonathan and me bonded with Clark the moment we saw him in the cornfield. He looked so lost and vulnerable. All I wanted to do was take him home and cuddle him forever."

Lana came over with the latte's. She glared at Lois and slammed down the cup and then she stormed off again.

"Just ignore, she is just being pathetic, Lois."

"The sooner she starts Met U the better."

"Jonathan and I have discussed it and we are okay for you and Clark to share a room." Martha smiled.

"Thanks, Martha. That means so much. I promise no funny business."

"Come on, you can't make such a promise." Martha laughed.

"We're not rushing into anything."

Martha laughed again. "Bit late for saying that, isn't it." She joked, looking at Eli.

Lois joined in. "maybe you're right."

After they finished their coffees and were about to leave, Eli started to cry for his bottle. "I'll feed him here. Do you still want to pop to the hardware store? I will meet you back at the truck."

Martha left and as soon as she had Lana approached her. "Lois, you are a pathetic cow. Clark will grow a backbone soon and you will be gone. How can you use a little defenceless child to bag a boyfriend."

"Look, Lana. Here goes. I am not using Clark. I love him and we have a child together who we both love. Everyone is happy except you it seems."

"He is not yours. Your act makes me sick."

Lois smirked. "Lana, he is mine. I am his biological mother so get over yourself and move on."

"Cut the crap, Lois. You have never been pregnant."

"I never was, and to be honest I do not owe you an explanation except to say that the DNA results came back positive a few days ago. 99.99% accurate were the words of the doctor I believe."

Yet again, Lana walked off in a mood. "I'll find out the truth" she muttered to herself.

Lana drove straight over to the mansion to see Lex, she needed help to solve the baby mystery.

"Hi Lex, I need to know about Clark's baby."

Lex smiled. "you want him back don't you. I must admit even by my standards he has been very evasive about the subject."

"Now Lois is claiming to be the baby's mom."

"But how is that possible, she was never pregnant unless she did not put any weight on." Lex suggested.

Lana shook her head. "No she admits she never was pregnant."

"He is coming over this afternoon, I will probe a little deeper to see what the story is." He announced.

"Thanks Lex. I can't have Lois playing him for a fool."

"Have you ever thought that he may love her." Lex expected a slap.

"He loves me. Anyway even if Lois is the mother, it will give me and Clark more time together because she can take care of the baby whilst we spend quality time together."

"You've got it all planned, haven't you."

Lana smiled and left.

An hour or so later, Clark arrived at the mansion for his weekly pool match. It had become a ritual since they met four years ago.

"Hi Lex." Clark smiled as he entered the room.

"Hi Clark, where's Elijah? Thought he would be coming to."

"He's a bit young for pool." Clark grinned. "He's with his mommy."

"Yeah I heard about Lois." Lex decided to use the direct approach.

Clark smiled. "News travels fast. Let me guess...Lana!"

Lex nodded. "So let's have the full story."

"Ok, basically Lois's friend could not have children even though she had been trying for years with IVF, so Lois donated some eggs. They needed a donor so Chloe suggested me, even though I had never met Lois Lane or her friend at that point. I was very reluctant, but Chloe was very insistent. Anyway it was not a lot of work on my part." Clark grinned.

"You are a bit young to be a donor." Lex inquired.

"There's no law for a minimum age. Chloe checked into all the legal stuff. Anyway as it turned out, Lois's friend was caught up in all sorts of drugs and stuff, and could not cope with Elijah so she dumped him on me. Not that I'm complaining."

"What happens if the birth mother comes forward to claim Eli."

"She's dead Lex. She overdosed the night after she gave him up."

"Sounds like a soap opera drama." Lex laughed.

"Well that doesn't matter now. I have a child and I am in love with his biological mom, what more could I want."

"Sounds perfect. I'm almost jealous." Lex smiled.

"No doubt Lana has asked you to dig deeper so go ahead and you find out exactly what I told you."

"I have no need, I trust you as a friend. Why would you lie?""

Clark's phone rang. It was Lois asking if he could pop by the store and get some more diapers on the way home.

"Look Lex, can we play next week? Eli needs diapers."

Lex put his hands up. "Who am I to stand in the way of a baby and his diapers."

The minute Clark left, Lex was on the phone asking one of his private detective to investigate. Clark heard everything and called a meeting with John and Emil to discuss the situation.

He arrived home after seeing them. Lois was sitting in the lounge singing to Eli. He was just dropping off to sleep. She got up and came through the kitchen. She kissed him and Clark sat her down to tell her everything. She would have panicked normally but it sounded like Clark had everything in hand.

That evening, Lex phoned Lana and told her to go over. He told her everything.

"Lana, Clark was telling the truth. Everything checks out."

"It's impossible..."

"Unless he has a mind wiping alien working for him, I'm telling you it is Lois and Clark's baby. I think you need to give up your obsession with him. I can't see anything breaking Lois and him up."

Lana smiled. "I guess I will just have to take direct action."

"Why the bitterness, Lana,. Why can't you be happy for them."

"Clark loves me and he just needs reminding of the fact."

A few weeks Lois and Clark were having a movie night. Eli had settled down for a few hours and his parents were visiting family in Dodge City. Eli was now seven weeks old and was starting to sleep through the night. Lana had been out of town for a week visiting aunt Nell with Jason. It was bliss.

It was the first time they had been able to have the house to themselves and act like a normal couple. Clark had no idea what Lois was planning that night. Their relationship was still not past the kissing stage but that was all going to change.


	8. Chapter 8

Clark had all but given up on seeing anymore of the Godfather. The moaning and nibbling on his right ear was proving to be a major distraction, not that he was complaining. It was pretty obvious what Lois had planned for the night and it wasn't watching a movie.

"Lo, shall I switch the movie off."

"What movie? Has it started yet?"

"Yeah it's been on for the past 20 minutes."

"Well, I'm pretty distracted as you can see." Lois smiled through the nibbles.

"Lo, if you're hungry I can do extra popcorn. I don't think I will have an ear left by the time you are finished."

Lois looked at him playfully. "You could always convince me to move onto another part of your anatomy."

"Which part?" he gulped nervously. "This was his first time, well as Clark Kent anyway.

"I was thinking of these." She replied as she clamped her lips onto his.

He kissed her even harder before pulling away after a few minutes. "so this is why you suggested that Eli sleep in my parents room."

Her smile said it all. "Clark, I hope you don't mind."

His eyes glinted in response. "How could I mind? I love you and want to be with you forever."

Lois smiled, not fleeing her feelings like she normally would. I love you too..."

They kissed and he scooped her off the chair and carried her to their room.

The sunlight was bright the following morning. Clark opened his eyes, and realised it was only 4am. He turned over and noticed the gorgeous sight of Lois lying next to him with a smile on her face. Last night had been better than he ever could have imagined.

He heard Eli whimpering from next door and went to check on him.

Lois woke to the sight of Clark asleep in the rocking chair with Eli lying across his chest. She loved seeing her family so content and happy. Last night had only solidified what they already had.

Lois went down to make breakfast while the boys slept.

Half an hour later Clark came down and walked over and kissed Lois. They sat down to eat the burnt bacon and eggs that Lois had attempted to cook. Clark walked over to put Eli in his play seat when he saw the 'message received' light flashing on the phone. He pressed play.

Message received - 9.14pm Lo, this is your father. I will be at the Kent Farm tomorrow at 9am sharp. Please ensure you are packed as I have got you a place at Baltimore University. They are willing to overlook your previous misdemeanours at Met U. They want you to attend for an orientation week starting this week before you go there permanently in September.

Lois overheard the message and went into hyper-panic mode. "Clark, that means he will be here in 3 minutes."

"There's not much we can do. Just tell him the whole story."

"Good plan, Clark. I am sure he'll be thrilled."

"You are over 18 yrs old. You are free to do as you want. There is nothing he can do."

"He will freak that I am an unmarried mother."

"Well, just tell him we're engaged."

Then Lois's posture changed. "You know what Clark. You're right! I'm going to stand up to him. And as much as I would like to get engaged in a few years time. I'm not ready yet and I'm not going to lie to placate him."

Clark kissed Lois on her forehead. "I'm proud of you, Lois."

There was a loud determined knock at the door. Clark went to answer it.

"General Lane, come in. We have just got your message."

The General looked him up and down and extended his hand. "Clark, I'm pleased to see you again."

"So where is my little girl? She has gone up to pack no doubt."

Lois walked from the lounge into the kitchen. "No, dad. I'm not going to Baltimore. I'm staying in Smallville. Things have changed."

"What's changed? I hope you realise the lengths I have gone to arrange this place for you."

"But, you never asked me if it is what I wanted to do." Lois replied.

"What's stopping you?"

Clark walked through with Eli and handed him to Lois.

"He is stopping me."

"You're taking a child minding job over a university place." Then Sam noticed the resemblance. "That's Clark's son isn't it?"

"Yeah it is, General." Clark agreed.

Lois walked over and put her arm around Clark's waist. "He's mine too, dad. He is your grandson. And before you lecture me on the repercussions of taking Clark's son on as my own, he is MY son – legally and biologically."

Sam almost passed out. "How did this happen? You didn't look pregnant last year when I was here."

Lois told her dad the full story as Clark took Eli upstairs for a nap.

"How could you get involved in such a scheme – egg donation at your age." He snapped.

"It doesn't really matter because I have Eli and Clark. We are a family."

"You will do anything to chase this idealistic family you have always craved, Lois, but this is just plain stupid."

"Yeah maybe I will do anything to get the perfect family because one thing's for sure, you never provided it."

"You're making a big mistake, being tied down at your age. Well I suppose you've made your bed so you will have to lie in it." Sam snapped as he marched out the door and drove off.

What Lois and Clark did not see was the tear appearing in the corner of the General's eye...

Lois burst into tears, but it was not emotional tears but pure relief. She had wanted to stand up to her father for years and she finally done it. As it sunk in, she was shocked that her feelings began to change to ones of guilt.

Clark came down when he heard the commotion. "Lo, are you ok? Where's your father?"

"He's gone. I told him that he was a bad father. He walked out in a rage. I hope it is probably the last I will see of him. No doubt I have disappointed him so much he won't want to set his eyes on me again."

Lois smiled at Clark but he could see her facade was hiding deep emotional scars that had been brought to the surface after years of being buried.

"Clark, do you mind if I have sometime to myself." Lois kissed him.

"Would you rather not talk about it?"

"No, I need time to work through this on my own."

Lois lay in bed with tears soaking into the pillow. The last 24hrs had gone from feelings of euphoria when being with Clark to emotional conflict when her father left her life. She had bottled so much up during her childhood. From the minute her mom died, she had no outlet for the blistering grief that consumed her.

Her father would not allow her to grieve or even mention her mom. He cleared out all memory of her from the base house within days of her death. Lois had been given a new purpose in life – bring up her sister. Lucy and she had never been close and she resented her new role that had been thrust upon her.

Her father had never been physically abusive, not even emotionally. His abuse took more the form of neglect. He could barely cope with his own feelings, let alone take on responsibility for the emotional well being of two young girls who had just lost their mom.

It had taken the past six months to see what a family should be like. The Kent's were the family she had always wished for. They had accepted and protected Clark throughout his childhood. He was a credit to them, and there was no doubt he had turned into a caring human being due to their nurturing. But then again he wasn't human.

Clark decided to see Lois was okay. He opened the bedroom door in case she was asleep but found her sobbing into the pillow.

"Lo, you can't do this to yourself. Let me help." Clark felt helpless.

She rolled over to face Clark and showed the true extent of her emotional outpouring. Her eyes were so red and puffy from all of the crying. She held her arms out. He sat on the bed and hugged her.

"I'm here for you, Lois."

"I know you are Clark." She kissed him. He lay down next to her on the bed and they fell asleep.

Hours later, they woke up to the sound of the door opening.

"Clark, Lois?" his mom shouted.

They went downstairs with Eli. It was still obvious Lois had been crying so she sat down and told a concerned Martha all about it.

Three months later

Life was now in a routine. His parents had eased up on the restrictions of them staying together. It was a bit cramped but as long as they were together they didn't care.

Martha loved having Clark, Lois and Eli at the farmhouse, as did Jonathan. He was so besotted with his grandson. Lois had not heard from Sam, although she did get a phone call from an excited sister in Switzerland who promised she would visit in the Fall when she could get some time out of her weekend job.

Lois maintained that she did not miss her dad, but Martha could see glimpses of sadness in her eyes whenever Jonathan mentioned being a grandfather. Clark was still taking to fatherhood with ease. Elijah was now five months old and was sitting unaided. It would not be long before he would be crawling. He had not shown any signs of inheriting his dad's abilities.

Emil was an ever present visitor at the house and always said he was coming to do medical checks on Eli. However it was obvious that 'Uncle Emil' as he liked to be called was besotted with Eli. Eli loved him too.

Lana had left early to go and get settled in at Met U with Chloe. Lois missed Chloe, but she had Martha to talk to whenever she needed. Lana never visited and avoided Lois and Eli when they went to the Talon. The summer had flashed over and now it was time for Clark to go to Central Kansas University to study journalism.

As it turned out, Lois managed to get on the same course as Clark, albeit on the part time/distance learning option. It was perfect, as she got to spend two days at Uni and the rest of the week with Eli. She never saw herself as being content with a role of a stay-at-home mom but she relished every moment with her son. She and Clark had decided that she would complete her course and hopefully get a job once Eli started school.

Martha loved looking after Eli on the days Lois was at Uni. She never got a look in when Jonathan was around. She often headed into town to meet some friends for coffee. On this particular day, she popped in the post office to collect the mail for the farm. There was a letter addressed to her personally, waiting for her.

She opened and shocked when she read the contents...What should she do?

Martha thought long and hard about the letter but something told her she needed to reply, whatever the repercussions could be...

Two months later

At seven months old, life got complicated for Clark and Lois – Eli got mobile. He looked like a commando crawling along the floor on his elbows. He was still showing no signs of having superpowers but then again Clark was not found until he was almost two so there was no way of knowing if he would have got his powers sooner than he did.

Lucy finally arrived to see her nephew for the first time. Lois had gone to pick Lucy up at the airport.

"Where is he then?" Lucy asked as she hugged her big sister.

"He's with Clark. I thought we could catch up on some gossip before you meet him. It's been over a year since I've seen you. How is life in Europe?"

"Great, but I'm just too excited. Never thought my sis would become a mom before 20. Bet dad was not too impressed. He never mentions much when I talk to him and when I asked him when he is going to visit, he says he is too busy. It's strange he hasn't seen his own grandson."

Lois started to get upset as she told Lucy about the visit five months ago.

"I can't believe dad. He is so cold. I must admit I only speak to him when I have to these days. So how is Clark? I've only seen the pics you sent but he is so hot."

"He's fine Lucy."

"Are you two actually a couple? You never elaborate when I ask you and seeing how Eli was conceived in a non-conventional manner, I thought maybe you were just co-parenting."

Lois grinned. "We're definitely a couple."

"I'm glad you actually found someone to meet your high standards, sis."

They both laughed at that comment. They pulled up at the farm and as they did, Clark came out carrying Eli.

Lucy was gobsmacked. "God, two gorgeous boys." She was drooling at Clark.

They got out of the car and Eli stretched his arms out for his mom.

"Luce.,, this is your nephew Eli."

She handed Eli to Lucy and he just gurgled and smiled at her. "He didn't cry at me, that is amazing."

Clark commented. "I think he likes you."

"Lucy, this is Clark!"

Lucy went all red and coy. "Hi Clark, Lois has told me so much about you."

"All good things I hope."

"Well mostly." Lucy joked.

They went into the farmhouse, Eli more than happy to stay with Lucy. "Mom and dad areout of town for the weekend so Lucy, you can have their room."

"That's great! I bet you two sneak into the same room when his parents are away" Lucy whispered to Lois.

"We don't need to sneak. We have been able to share a room for months. They figured if we were mature enough to bring up a child then we could be trusted."

"They obviously don't know you very well, Lois." Her sister laughed.

"Luce, how do you fancy having a ride to the Talon to see Chloe. She is home for the weekend. We can take Eli and let Clark catch up with some studies."

Clark smiled and kissed Lois goodbye.

Chloe was waiting downstairs in the Talon to meet her cousins.

"Hi Luce, its so good to see you. My god, he is getting big." Chloe said looking at Eli.

"Sorry Chloe for not visiting more but I cannot take seeing Lana more than I have to. How is uni going?" Lois asked.

"Great, I've met someone."

Lois shrieked. "What's his name?"

"It's Jimmy. You know the guy I hooked up with last year during my internship, well we have been hanging out loads and he is a great guy."

"I'm so happy for you."

"I wish Lana was!" Chloe remarked. "She is so jealous since she broke up with Jason. Mind you I think her relationship with Lex is more than the platonic friendship she claims it is. She often stays over at the mansion."

Lois smirked. "Those two belong together. She is such a gold digger. At least she seems to have given up on Clark."

Lucy looked at Lois. "Is everyone after Clark? I bet Chloe is the only one who has never had a thing for him."

"Actually I used to..." Chloe smiled.

"How did you snare him, sis." Lucy asked.

"We had a baby together." They all laughed, then suddenly they heard a familiar voice. "What's so funny." Lana asked as she walked towards them.

"Nothing exciting, Lana." Lois suggested.

"Who is this?" Lana asked, looking at Lucy.

"This is Lois's sister, Lucy."

"Hi Lucy, nice to meet you. Can I join you for a coffee. I have some time to spare before I have to head to see Lex."

"Of course you can." Lucy said. "As long as you tell us all about this millionaire boyfriend of yours."

Lois glared at her sister and expected Lana to freak but she didn't. "Ok Lucy. We have just started dating and he is so generous."

Chloe smiled. "I knew you were dating him."

"Yeah we are and I must admit he is such a refreshing change from Clark. I don't mean to offend you Lois but I don't know how you live with all those secrets he keeps from you."

Lois did not bite. "Lana, I trust him to tell me anything important. That happens when you have a baby together."

Lana grinned. "Maybe we could go on a triple date sometime. Lex might even pay for us. Chloe, Lois ...what do you think?"

"We'll see." Chloe said.

"We don't go out much Lana since Eli came along." Lois replied.

"Looks like it will be you and me, Chloe..." Lana sneered, excited that she could show off all the clothes and jewellery that Lex had bought her.


	9. Chapter 9

A few weeks before Eli's first birthday, Jonathan was tidying away some papers when he picked up an old diary and a photo fell out. It was one of Eli trying to take his first few steps. Martha must have put it there when she was doing some finances. Jonathan noticed that there was some writing on the back. He turned it over and was shocked when he read it.

Eli is not far from walking, uses furniture to cruise around. He definitely has his mom's personality. I will try and get some pics from his birthday and send them asap. Martha...

What was Martha up to and who was she writing to. He had his suspicions but he needed to talk to her. She was doing a shift at the Talon so he drove down with Eli, who he was babysitting.

"Hi Jonathan, thanks for bringing little Eli down to see me. Do you want a coffee? I hope he is being good."

"Yeah he's been perfect unlike someone I know." He held up the photo. "Do you mind telling me what this is all about."

Martha's face dropped. "It's not what you think."

"How long have you been writing to him?" Jonathan asked.

"Cath, could you cover for me for ten mins while I take a break?"

She sat down next to Jonathan. Eli was fast asleep in his buggy.

"Sam wrote to me 6 months ago. When he first made contact he was a broken man who said he did not want to poison Lois's life anymore. He thinks she hates him and he feels he will never make up for his mistakes as a father. But now he wants desperately to get back into his daughter's life."

"So why does he want photos."

"It is his first grandchild and he is so proud to be a grandfather. He was shocked by the revelation and knows now he reacted badly. He only wanted to know how Lois and Eli were getting on, but after exchanging a few letters we agreed to keep in touch."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Jonathan, I hated hiding this from you, but would you have tried to stop me keeping contact?"

"Yes, but I understand why you did. I think we have to tell Clark."

"Why?"

Jonathan explained his reasoning.

Lois was doing a few hours at the Talon the following night so it was their chance.

Clark was just sitting with Eli on his lap watching the Wiggles when his mom and dad joined him.

Clark looked nervously. "What's going on? Why are you surrounding me?"

"Look Clark. Listen to everything before you get mad."

Martha told him the whole story and waited for the response.

"Mom, I understand why you did it, but why wait until now to tell me."

Jonathan joined in, "Clark, I think you should go and talk to Sam and see if he will come to Eli's birthday party. You have seen Lois. She may seem unbothered by her father's absence but even you have to admit she is devastated by it. He is in Metropolis next week for a conference."

"You think I should get Lois to go and see him."

"That's your call, son. You could go alone or take Lois there."

"It would have to be under false pretences, dad. If she gets any whiff of a conspiracy she won't go and it could deepen the rift."

Clark sat for a moment thinking. "Okay, will you look after Eli for a night and I will take Lois to stay in Metropolis as a break."

A week later, Lois and Clark were driving to one of the nicest hotels in the city. Sam would not be arriving til the following day so they could enjoy the time away, in fact their first night away from Eli.

"I cannot believe how much I am missing him, Clark." Lois remarked.

"Tell me about it, I feel as though I have lost a limb."

"Thanks for bringing me away. One thing though, we'd better not miss our son's first steps." Lois laughed.

"Try not to stress Lois. We are here to relax." Clark smiled.

"You are going to help me relax I hope."

"I have a few ideas." Clark leaned over and kissed her tenderly.

An hour later they were sitting in the Jacuzzi in their room.

"How did you afford this?" Lois asked.

"Never mind. As long as we make full use of it."

"I think we should start making sure our money isn't wasted." She said as she swam up and kissed him hard.

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. It was six waiters arriving with lots of food and champagne.

"This is amazing Clark. Thank you."

Clark gulped. "He hadn't ordered it but he had an idea who had."

"Lois, I cannot lie. I did not arrange all of this."

"Then who did?"

"I don't know." But Lois could tell from his face that he did know.

"You do know Clark. I can tell when you're lying."

"Look, Lois. Don't freak. I think your dad did it." Clark looked sheepish.

"How would he know..." she didn't finish her sentence. "unless you told him."

"Your dad is in town tomorrow and he wants to see you. He misses you."

"Have you been talking to him?" She looked hurt as though Clark had betrayed her.

"No, but I found out last week that he wrote to mom asking for info and pics of Eli. He is very upset about how he has treated you. He wants to smooth things over."

"You brought me here, you lied to me about wanting a weekend away and you arrange for my father to see me, and you don't even think to ask me."

Before Clark could answer, Lois got up and started screaming. "Clark, I thought you loved me. You obviously know nothing about me. If you did, you would not put the feelings of my father over mine. We're over."

Lois ran out the door. Clark followed but Lois had already jumped into the truck seething with anger.

He was about to follow after her when his hearing picked up a local tv station announcing an accident at a nuclear power station in the Ukraine. He felt torn apart, but he knew people could die if he did not go and help.

Three hours later, he got home having saved 400 workers lives and stopping the reactor going into meltdown. He hoped Lois had calmed down a little and was worried when he saw Lois's car was not in the driveway.

He ran in. "Where is she?"

"She's gone Clark and she has taken Eli with her."

"Where's she gone?"

"She said something about leaving town because she could not trust anyone. She looked devastated. This all my fault." Martha said with tears streaming down her face.

Clark sped around all the county looking for Lois. He finally found her car pulled in at the side of the road. She was sitting with Eli on her lap.

"Lois...are you ok?"

Lois looked at him and started to sob her heart out.

"Clark, are you worried that I would hurt our son because I never would."

"Lo, I didn't come looking for you for that reason. I upset you and I need to explain myself. I only did it for you."

"Clark, can you drive us home." She said in between sobs.

"Lo, I was wrong for trying to trick you into meeting up with your father." Clark pleaded with her to listen.

"Clark, you don't understand. I'm not well. I have been depressed for the past few months, tired all the time. And I keep having feelings that I am going mad."

"I don't get it...why didn't you tell me? I knew you were tired but I thought it was just Eli that was tiring you out."

"No, I needed this confrontation with you to finally admit that I need help."

Clark drove to the hospital where Emil was waiting and then drove home for his parents to look after Eli.

Lois was sat talking to Emil who was trying to get a history of her symptoms. It finally felt as though a weight had been lifted, just talking about it.

"So Emil, what's your diagnosis?"

"I have a suspicions but let's wait until the blood results come back."

"I just hope there is something you can do to stop me feeling like this." Lois explained.

Minutes later, he received the results from the lab on his computer. He studied them.

"Well, Lois. We have a diagnosis. You have an underactive thyroid."

"Is it terminal?"

"No it is easily treated with medication. You should start to feel better within a few weeks, but by the looks of it, we do have an added complication."

"What is it? You're worrying me."

"You're pregnant! Congratulations. Were you trying?" Emil asked.

Lois started to look pale and started to hyperventilate. "I can't be. I know my cycle is screwed up, but I put that down to stress."

"Well, going by your HCG levels you are only about six weeks. We need to do a scan in the next few weeks to find out the dates." Emil explained.

Lois started to panic. "Emil, he will go mad. I was on the pill, how has it happened."

"Just one of 1% I guess, where the pill is not effective. Clark is besotted with Eli. He will love another addition to the family."

"He won't and I don't want him to know yet until I get my head around it." Lois panicked.

"It's your body and I will respect your wishes, Lois. I think your thyroid is affecting your thinking. Can you come back for a check up in a week so we can do your scan and check your thyroid is getting back to normal with the meds. You will feel better in a few weeks, I promise." Emil smiled.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Clark. "Come in," Emil shouted.

"Are you ok? Lo."

"Yeah fine, we just got sorted. I'm fine."

"That's great, doc." Clark escorted Lois out of the hospital and back to the farm.

Martha tried to broach the subject on her return but Lois told them she wasn't in the mood and just wanted to go to bed. Clark stayed down and explained everything.

Finally Clark took Eli up to bed, settled him in his cot and got into bed next to Lois. He snuggled up to her, but was shocked when she froze and moved away from him.

"Lo, are you ok?"

"Can we just leave it Clark?" Lois asked.

The next few days Lois felt physically better from the meds but for some reason she did not want to be bothered by anyone. She just wanted to be left alone. It was odd that she was carrying her and Clark's second child but it was her first pregnancy. Luckily the morning sickness had not kicked in yet.

Clark kept trying to help Lois and talk to her but she was being very cold towards him. He knew it was because of her dad but everytime he tried to bring up the subject she clammed up.

One night he got into bed with Lois. "Lo, can we talk?"

"I'm tired." Lois snapped.

"That is your excuse every night." Clark replied. "It is like you cannot bear it when I touch you."

"I knew it. This is about sex isn't it." Lois fired back.

"No, of course not. I am just wondering what's changed between us. Is this all about your dad?"

Lois looked hurt. "No, it isn't? Maybe this isn't the life I expected to be living when I was 20 years old. There is so much I wanted to see and do."

"You still can, Lo. Eli is pretty portable now. What's stopping us? We have saved up enough money to take a holiday, so why don't we?"

"You don't get it, do you Clark?"

"No Lois, I don't but I'm willing to listen." Clark smiled.

"I think we should take a break. You are too young to be tied down, and so am I." Lois suggested.

Clark was becoming annoyed at her attitude. "Lois, I don't know what is going on with you but I don't remember forcing you to move in with me so we could be a family."

"Maybe I am just seeing things differently now. I am going to move into the Talon apartment. We can split Eli's time between you and me." Lois suggested.

Clark pleaded her. "Please don't do this Lois. I love you so much."

"If you love me, let me go." Lois begged.

Lois left Eli asleep and told Clark she would be back tomorrow to pick some stuff. Lois drove off and cried her heart out.

Clark knew he had to do something. He was worried about Lois's state of mind. Why would she give everything up between them and move back into the Talon. Prior to this breakup Lois had not given any clues that she was unhappy in their relationship.

He decided to give Lois some space, but he did go to the hospital to see Emil. Perhaps he knew something that could be making Lois act this way.

"Clark...what can I do for you?"

"Emil, Lois has left me and I need to know why. Did you find anything wrong with her that could be causing this irrational behaviour?"

"Clark, I cannot tell you anything, you know that."

"Emil, please..."

"My hands are tied."

"Emil, is there something seriously wrong with her." Clark asked in a panic. "Is she dying or something?"

"No Clark, nothing like that. I cannot say anything more."

Clark sped out of the room. Emil was frustrated that he could not tell Clark anymore but he could not risk his medical career, especially now Lois was pregnant. He knew that cases of thyroid induced psychosis had been reported but he had a feeling there was some other factor behind Lois's breakdown.

Just then Emil was surrounded in a white light. Next thing he knew he was in some caves. This is where he had been brought to talk to Jor-el last year after Eli's conception.

"Dr Hamilton, I need your assistance again." Jor-el voice filled the cave.

"Is this something to do with Lois?"

"Yes it is. The main reason I took her son from her last year was due to the effects of a Kryptonian pregnancy on a human."

"What effects?"

"For the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy Ms Lane would have suffered crippling mental instability. I would not risk the life of a potential heir to the House of El. It takes ten weeks for a human body to synchronise with a Krytonian foetus."

"But she is carrying another child. What can we do? Can you take the baby again?"

"Her pregnancy is too far progressed. She can survive this but needs support. She needs to be kept as calm as possible."

"Clark needs to know about the baby, but she won't tell him and neither can I." Emil explained.

"I will tell my son what he needs to know when the time is right."

"Dr Hamilton, I am leaving the safety of Ms Lane and the baby in your hands."

"Oh, great..." Emil said sarcastically.

Then Emil was back in his office, as though nothing had happened. He just hoped Lois would come in as planned next week for her scan.

Lois had phoned Martha to ask if she would take things over to the Talon as she was in no fit state to drive. She also asked if she would bring Eli for a visit. Clark wanted to go in his mom's place but his parents talked him out of it.

Martha arrived at the Talon and knocked on the door. Lois answered and it was obvious she had been crying.

"Hi Martha. Come in."

Eli put his hands out for his mom. "Mama." He cried out for the first time. Lois burst into tears again. She missed him so much.

"Sweetheart, do you want to talk?" Martha asked, hugging Lois.

"I don't know what to say. I feel like I am being suffocated by waves of overwhelming feelings. I know I am acting irrational and unfair, but I am not able to stop it. I am really scared."

"What did Emil say?" Martha asked. "Did he not shed any light on to your mental state?"

"Nothing I want to talk about. Sorry for shutting you out." Lois remarked.

"Lois, I don't want to over step the mark, but do you want me to stay with you here for a few days. I am worried about you."

Lois considered the offer and nodded. "Martha, I would really like that."

"You tell me things when you are ready. I will not push anything."

Martha stayed for a while longer before she headed back to the Farm to drop Eli off and grab some stuff.

When she got back, Clark was waiting anxiously at home. He shot up. "Is she ok, mom?"

"She is so fragile Clark."

"Did she say anything about me?" Clark asked, desperate for any information.

"Clark, she has not said anything. She does not know what is wrong with her and she is scared."

"I have to go and see her." Clark announced.

"No, you can't. You will tip her over the edge. She has accepted me staying over with her for a few nights at the Talon."

Clark calmed down. "Well I guess that is something."

Martha headed over to the Talon leaving Clark and his dad at the farm with Eli.

"Do you mind if I go over the barn for a while? Can you look after Eli?"

He patted his son on the shoulder. "You go, I will be fine."

Clark sat in the loft, tears started to stream down his face. He could save the world but not make those close to him happy.

He heard footsteps behind him and he turned hoping to see Lois, instead he saw a ghost from his past- Lana.

"Hi Clark, I came over as soon as I heard Lois and you broke up." Lana tried to sound sympathetic but sounded more like she was gloating.

"Thanks for your concern, Lana but I would rather be left alone."

"You should not be alone when you are like this. Why did you two break up? It was a lot of responsibility for you to take on so young. She will let you visit your son, I'm sure."

"Eli is still here. I do not regret becoming a dad this young. Eli is the best thing that ever happened to me, as is Lois."

"Well obviously Lois doesn't think so." Lana remarked.

"Lana, if you are acting as a supportive friend, I would hate to have you as an enemy. Why don't you go back to Lex? You were made for each other."

"Lana, please leave before I say something I will regret and don't bother coming back."

Just as Lana was leaving, she noticed Lois entering the barn.

"Clark, I will never breathe a word of what has just happened, but I will never regret it. We could not deny it any longer."

Clark looked at Lana with a puzzled look but all became clear when Lois walked up the stairs. He realised Lana had just pushed her further over the edge.

Lana ran off past Lois. "Oh my god, Lois. I didn't mean for you to hear that."

Lois's eyes said it all, she had fallen for Lana's trick. The gulf between Clark and Lois had probably widened beyond repair.


	10. Chapter 10

The look said it all.

"So what was she doing here?" Lois asked.

"She came to offer me support for my split up with you. I asked her to leave."

"What happened next?" Lois eyed him suspiciously.

"Lo, you really think I am still interested in Lana. She is only out for what she can get, and I am definitely off limits. I don't like her anymore."

"Why did you come?" Clark asked hopefully.

"I came to pick some stuff up. Your mom is at the Talon now."

Clark walked up to her. "Lois, I miss you and so does Eli."

She slapped him. "Don't use my son as a way of getting me back. It won't work." She started to cry.

Clark held her tightly and wiped the dripping tears away from her cheek. She looked at him. "Lo, I love you. Please tell me what I can do to make you feel better."

She kissed him hard as though she was trying to wipe away her pain. He responded with more force. She started to push him over to the sofa where he sat down and she sat on his lap continuing to kiss him all the time. His tee was soon coming over his head. She needed to be with him one more time.

Half an hour later Lois was lying in his arms. "Clark, I am so sorry for the way I am acting, but I can't come home yet."

Clark looked confused. "But what has just happened..."

"...has changed nothing." Lois finished his sentence. She seemed so cold and emotionally detached at the moment. He had come to a decision however unethical it was.

Lois left to head back to the Talon where Martha was cooking her dinner.

"Lo, are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm holding it together." Lois replied.

"No you're not..." Martha tried to hug her but she collapsed in a heap on the sofa.

Clark hoped Emil was not on shift. He sped into his office and started to go through the filing cabinet. He went through all the records but could not find one for Lois.

Emil walked in and was not surprised to see Clark. "You won't find it. I don't keep it with my normal files due to Lois being a special case."

"Emil, I need to know. She is a wreck and I can't watch her deteriorate any further. She is the mother of my son and the woman I love."

"I know what this must be doing to you. I can't tell you...but could you take me to the Kawatche caves now." Emil asked.

Clark nodded and seconds later they were in the darkness of the caves.

Emil started to shout. "Jor-el, your son needs to know what is happening. You said you would when the time was right, well now is the right time."

The white light beamed down to both of them. "Dr Hamilton, that is my decision."

Emil pleaded with him. "Lois is not coping and needs Clark's support. You are not being fair."

Clark got involved. "Jor-el, what have you done to Lois?"

"I have done nothing. It is something you have done."

"What have I done?"

Jor-el paused for a few seconds before announcing. "Lois is pregnant with your second child. But she is struggling to cope with carrying a Kryptonian/Human hybrid fetus."

"She's pregnant again?...but what does this have to do with her mental state." Clark was shocked.

"My son, humans are not designed to carry Kryptonian babies. That is why I took your first born son from you, when he was conceived."

"Will she die if she carries this child?"

"Not physically but she is being overwhelmed by psychological forces, over which she has no control. They will only last until she is ten weeks pregnant, but the power of these emotions could send her into permanent madness from which she will never recover."

Clark's heart was pounding. "And you never thought to tell me this before she got pregnant."

"I did not expect you to have a second child so soon after your son."

Clark was angry. "Neither did I. What can we do about it?"

Jor-el voice boomed out. "There is only one option. You will have to inject the placenta with blue kryptonite. It will power down the Kryptonian influences on the baby long enough to get Lois past ten weeks. There is a risk to the baby from the procedure but this is minimal."

Emil looked at Clark. "It may work, but we will need Lois to agree."

Clark nodded. "I will go and talk to her now."

Emil agreed. "Could you take me back to the hospital? I can be set up within a few hours."

"Only problem is where to get blue kryptonite." Clark asked.

"I have some. Don't ask why, it is a long story."

Clark was curious but decided to leave it until after he had Lois sorted out.

Ten minutes later, Clark was at the door of the Talon. His mom answered.

"Mom, I need you to let me see Lois. I know what's wrong with her and she needs help."

"She is in bed. Look, I will go and have a coffee downstairs while you sort things out."

Clark walked in on a peaceful looking Lois. With all the unstable behaviour from Lois recently it was nice to see her looking so serene, so much so, he hated to wake her.

"Lo, can you wake up. We need to talk."

"Clark, is that you?" she asked with a smile until the events of recent days came flooding back into her head. She sat upright then started to leave the room.

"Clark, leave me alone, please...Where is your mom? I knew I couldn't trust her. She was bound to take your side. Looks like I am on my own from now on." Lois ranted with growing paranoia.

He grabbed Lois by the shoulders and made her make eye contact with him. "Lois, look at me...I know you are carrying our child, but this pregnancy is making you sick."

"Clark, I am not aborting this baby. I know you are angry with me for falling pregnant."

"Lois, I am thrilled...but the Kryptonian hormones are making you feel paranoid and as if you are going mad."

"I don't trust you, Clark. You will do anything not to have this baby. I will go it alone." Lois shouted back.

"Lois, I love you, Eli and this baby. The placenta needs to be injected with blue kryptonite to stop it from driving you into madness. There is a small risk to the baby, but if you don't do this, Eli will lose his mom and I will lose the one person I have truly loved."

He held out his hand. "Lois, I won't force you but I beg you to trust me. Come with me..."

Lois's head was screaming not to listen to Clark – it was a trick. But something in her heart told her that he would not betray her. It was a battle of wills. Her mind was slowly descending into a murky world of paranoia, where she no longer knew who she could trust.

"Look Lois. We need to get to the hospital. I cannot watch you suffer like this. We can get through this together." He pleaded with her to listen.

Lois took a step towards Clark and grabbed his hand. "Ok, Clark but if you are lying I will never forgive you and you will never see me ever again."

They drove to the hospital and went straight to Emil's office where he had everything set up. "Lois, I am so thankful you came. Let's do it, shall we? Lois, can you get on the bed."

Lois hesitated and looked at Clark for support. "I'm here, Lo."

"Clark, it may be better if you leave as you will depower as well." Emil suggested.

He shook his head as he helped Lois climb on the bed. "I don't care. I'm not leaving her."

"Right, let me explain the procedure." Emil tried to calm Lois.

"Emil, can you just do it." She lifted her top to expose her stomach.

Emil hooked Lois up to the ultrasound machine so it could guide him to where he would have to inject the Blue Kryptonite solution. He grabbed the anaesthetic needle to numb the area and minutes later placed the larger needle into her stomach.

Lois watched as the needle appeared on the screen. It headed towards the small blob in the centre. She could not look anymore and closed her eyes. She felt Clark squeeze her hand tightly.

"All done." Emil smiled. "Now we just have to wait and see what happens. Lois, can you stay lying down for half an hour to make sure you recover from the procedure."

Lois did not even answer. She had fallen asleep, exhausted from all the stress of the past few weeks.

Clark turned to Emil. "Let her sleep! Do you think Lois and the baby will be ok?"

"The baby looked fine on the ultrasound. Perfect size for a 7 week old. We will have to monitor her closely."

"I know this sounds really strange coming from an 18 year old but I cannot wait to experience this pregnancy with Lois – the natural way if you see what I mean."

"Maybe Kryptonian's mature faster than humans." Emil joked. "I'm just glad she agreed to come. She must be one strong person to fight off those negative feelings. Hopefully when she wakes up we should have an inkling of whether the procedure has been successful."

"Emil, what you are doing with blue meteor rock."

"We were going to tell you before all this kicked up with Lois."

"We...?" Clark asked curiously

"It is an idea that John came up with. We are planning ahead in case Eli gets powers. It is not going to be easy to explain to others why he is running fast or even flying. So we have..."

"Stop there, Emil." Clark replied. "If you think you are going to inject our son with that stuff you are mistaken. His powers are part of who he is and we are not going to take that away from him."

"If you let me finish. I have been trying to work on a bracelet that will contain a diluted form of blue kryptonite, meaning his powers will be restored the minute you take it off. You don't have to use it, it is just a back up plan." Emil explained.

Clark relaxed a little. "Let's just cross that bridge when we come to it. But one thing Emil... I appreciate all this help you are giving us, it means a lot..."

"It's my pleasure Clark. You are quite an interesting specimen to research." Emil laughed.

Lois stirred. "What's happening?" she sounded a little groggy.

"Lois, how are you feeling?" Clark asked, desperate to hear the answer and to know she would be fine.

Lois was flat out so Clark carried her to the truck, drove her back to the farm and once back he placed her in bed.

Clark walked downstairs to his very confused parents. "She's asleep."

"Have you two sorted things out?" Martha asked.

"It's complicated, can we talk about it in the morning. It's been a long day."

"How's Eli?"

"He's been no bother." Jonathan smiled. "We love looking after him. Why don't we have him in our room tonight. I think you and Lois could do with some catch-up time."

"Are you sure?" Clark asked.

"We insist! As long as Lois is okay. She has been through a few rough weeks." Martha remarked.

"I promise we will tell you everything when Lois is back to normal."

"Ok, son. Good night."

Clark went up to bed and climbed into bed with Lois.

Lois woke early the next morning, the sunlight was streaming through the window and for the first time in a while there were no black clouds hovering over her today. She realised that whatever Emil had done had worked. She turned over to find Clark lying next to her and she could tell by his furrowed brow that he was full of worry.

"Clark.." she whispered. "Where's Elijah?"

Clark stirred and found Lois smiling at him. "Lo, how are you feeling?" he muttered.

"I feel much better. Where is he?"

"He is in my parent's room. They thought that we needed to sleep. I haven't told them what has been going on. We will save that until you are ready."

"I'm ready now Clark. I don't feel weighed down anymore by feelings of anxiety. I know this baby will make things more interesting but I am sure we can face the challenges together."

"I love you, Lois. I am thrilled about the baby. We can aim for a football team."

Lois giggled, something she had not done in a while. "Let's wait a while before going for number 3."

"Deal...Do you want to get up? It's still early, why don't you get some more sleep?"

Lois smiled. "Well we could sleep or..."

An hour later they woke to the sound of Eli laughing and his dad trying to sing.

They went downstairs together. Eli saw them and magically took his first steps towards them. Lois and Clark could not believe what they were seeing. A round of applause followed from Jonathan and Martha.

"Seems he was saving his first steps for his mommy and daddy." Martha remarked.

"Eli, what a clever boy! Come to mommy." Eli smiled and ran over to her.

They all sat down to breakfast. Eli always put on a bit of a show in his highchair as he was determined to try and feed himself. He had not perfected the art of eating yet, as most of it tended to end up on his face, in his hair or on the floor.

"So how are you, Lois?" Martha asked.

"I'm fine. Just had a bit of a rough trot." Lois smiled. "I feel better now, thanks to Emil."

"What's Emil done?" Jonathan asked curiously.

Clark looked at Lois who nodded. "We have an announcement to make. It wasn't planned to happen this soon but we have a little brother or sister on the way for Eli."

Clark sat back in resignation, waiting for the chastisement from his parents but it never came. He could see the shock on his parent's faces but then his dad piped up.

"Clark, Lois...we are surprised but not upset. You have made a great job with Eli, so what's one more...Congratulations."

Eli was running riot around the house by the time his first birthday arrived. He was fast and was always getting into places he shouldn't. Clark soon learned that Eli had inherited his mother's stubbornness. Take Eli away from somewhere and it just gave him an incentive to go back.

Lois had virtually no morning sickness and a scan by Emil had confirmed that everything was fine with the new baby. There were no after effects from the procedure. Her moods were a little unpredictable but nothing you wouldn't expect to experience in early pregnancy. Her black moods were long gone.

There was a party for Eli in the barn at the farm. They had redecorated it as a jungle. Lois had invited a few moms and their babies. She had met some moms at the local baby group in town. Chloe was there with her boyfriend Jimmy. Lana had come at Lois's insistence as she did not want Lana to think that she believed anything had happened between her and Clark.

"Hi Lois, I am surprised I was invited." Lana announced, holding onto her escort as though her life depended on it. Jason looked as though he had been dragged there under duress.

"Why shouldn't I have?"

"Just with being Clark's ex-girlfriend and all." Lana commented.

"Well why is a problem. I'm happy with Clark and you're happy with Jason." Lois could see she wasn't happy with him but enjoyed winding Lana up.

"Of course, that's right." Lana huffed, forced to concede.

The party was just getting underway when a man appeared into the barn. Clark noticed him and panicked. He went to confront him.

"General Lane, it may not be such a good idea for you to be here. Lois made it clear she was not interested in seeing you." Clark announced reluctantly.

He turned around to see Lois standing behind him with a smile on her face. "It's ok Clark, I invited him. Come in...meet your grandson."


	11. Chapter 11

"Lo, I would love to. Thank you for allowing me to come today. It means a lot." Sam sounded emotional.

"It's ok. Can we just enjoy Eli's birthday and then we can have a talk." Lois asked her father.

"Of course."

Clark had headed off to get Eli from Chloe. He approached Sam. "Hello, little guy."

Eli put his arms out towards Sam.

"Looks like he wants a hug from his grandpa." Lois managed a smile.

Sam looked at his daughter who nodded to give him permission to take his grandson. Eli hugged into Sam, it was almost as though he knew who he was.

Lois and Sam chatted on a formal level. Clark could see that there was a long way to go to repair their relationship, hesitancy evident on both sides. He would love nothing more than getting Lois talking to her father but knew he had to let nature take its course.

One thing was obvious, Sam's attachment to Eli. He had not stopped looking at him for over an hour and there was such a proud look in his eyes when he looked at his grandson. The question was how would he take the news of a second grandchild.

Lois left her father and Eli talking to Chloe and saw her chance to go and talk to Clark.

He put his arms around Lois and drew her into a tight embrace. "How are you doing?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I had made contact with my father. It was a spur of the moment thing."

"It's ok. I'm glad you are trying to build bridges with your dad. It will take time though. Mind you I never thought I would see the day that the tough army general would be reduced to mush by a one year old." Clark smiled.

Lois chuckled. "You can talk. Eli has you reduced to mush every time he smiles at you."

"That's true. What are you doing about telling him about the pregnancy."

"I don't want anyone to know for a while except obviously your parents and Chloe, especially not my father."

"Do you think he will take it badly?" Clark asked.

"To be honest, I don't care. It has nothing to do with him."

Jonathan and Martha went over to talk to Sam.

"Thanks for all you have done for my daughter. You have shown me up to be the disgraceful, absent father that I always was."

Martha saw the pain and guilt in his face. "Sam, don't be too hard on yourself. You had a lot to deal with losing your wife like that and having to raise two girls alone."

"That's nice of you to defend me but my behaviour has been inexcusable." Sam replied.

"Well, it seems you have made some headway with Lois. She is an amazing mother." Jonathan added.

"Yeah, I can see that and I have been watching her and Clark together and you can see that they have strong feelings for each other." Sam smiled.

"They are one happy family. I never thought they would be able to deal with such a responsibility at such a young age but they have managed it." Martha said proudly.

"Eli is lovely." Sam smiled.

"I can see he has worked his charm on you already."

"He didn't have to try very hard. He is a lot like his mom. I can see the Lane streak in him already." Sam explained.

"Are you staying over tonight?"

"Yes, I have rented an apartment in town."

"How long are you planning on staying."

"Actually I am staying for a few months. Please don't tell Lois this until I have a chance to talk to her further."

"What has Smallville got that would interest a big shot General?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"I am heading up a task force for the Government. The increased odd activity in Smallville has got their interest. They sent me down here to try and get an explanation for events since the Meteor Shower."

Jonathan's heart sank. If Sam was anything like his daughter, he would not give up until he had got to the bottom of things. He needed to find out more without raising suspicions. He could see the worry on Martha's face.

"What exactly do you think you will find." Martha asked.

"Little green men..." Sam joked. "To be honest I have no idea but the Govt is serious about this and is sending putting serious resources into this project. Maybe you could give me some advice of where to look."

"You don't really believe that something is going on do you?"

"Well, that's what I am here to find out." Sam commented.

"Let's blow out the candles, and sing Happy Birthday." Clark announced as he approached his parents and Sam. He could see the seriousness on his parent's face. Something was wrong but it would have to wait until the party was over.

Once all the celebrations were over, he went to see his dad. "What's up between you and Sam?"

"We have major problems, son. Sam is moving to Smallville to investigate the effects of the meteor shower."

"Oh god. This is the last thing we need. Lois does not need any more stress." Clark remarked.

"What's the last thing we need?" They heard a familiar voice behind them say. Lois was standing there with a puzzled look.

Lois wanted to know what was going on.

"Come for a walk and I will tell you." Clark said.

They headed off across one of the fields.

"Your father was going to tell you tonight later so you are going to have to act surprised when he does. He is staying in town for a few months on a mission for the Government. They are investigating why Smallville has been a hive of paranormal activity since the meteor shower."

"Oh god, what can we do? My father will not rest until he has unearthed the truth. You worry about the Luthors finding out but they have nothing on my father's ability to discover things." Lois seemed stressed.

"Well, there is not much we can go except try and deflect his attempts. If we come across all panicked about his presence in town, he will work out something is up. I know you still have a long way to go to repairing your relationship with your father but..."

"You don't have to say it Clark. I know I am going to have to get close to him for the sake of this. I am a fast bridge builder." Lois explained.

"Lois, I love you and we can get through this. We just need to run so much interference that your father won't be able to work his way through it and will give up." Clark suggested.

"It's not going to be that easy." Lois replied.

Later that night, Sam told his daughter about the surprise bombshell. She acted surprised. "You'll be able to spend loads of time with Eli. He seems to really like you."

"I would love that, Lo and I would be grateful if we could work on our relationship as well."

"Ok then." Lois replied, trying not to sound too desperate.

Sam left a happy man and Lois went to discuss their plan with Clark and his parents. They also had invited Chloe, Emil and John Jones for additional support because the way Sam was talking it would be so much more than a one-man operation.

"Well we do have one advantage." John offered. "Your father trusts all of you and would not suspect you of having anything to do with covering up ."

"That's true." Lois replied.

"I will get a transfer to the local police dept so I can keep an eye on things" John added.

"Is it better if we don't ask how you can ask for a transfer and get one without any questions?" Clark smiled.

"Trade secret." John winked.

"I think we need to get to see what the Government are packing so we can plan our next step. Let's see what turns up before we make our next move." Jonathan suggested.

They all agreed to wait a few days and see what happened. Meanwhile Lois asked her father to meet for coffee the following day. It was not just the need to keep an eye on him, but she did want to try and mend things.

Lois arrived at the Talon at 10am with Eli to find her father chatting to some important looking man in a suit. She decided she was quite excited by the prospect of playing undercover detective.

Sam saw his daughter and said something to the man who got up and left. He signalled for Lois to come and sit down. Eli was fast asleep in his pushchair.

"What can I get you?" Sam asked.

"How about a latte?" Lois smiled.

"Ok." He asked the waitress for a coffee.

"So how are you getting used to the fast paced life in Smallville?" Lois asked.

"It's very different to DC but to be honest it makes a nice change to what I'm used to." Sam replied.

"I just hope you are not bringing loads of people and equipment in to take over the town." Lois remarked.

"No, Lois. It's not War of the Worlds. I don't think we are looking at a full blown alien invasion here, well not yet anyway." He joked.

"So what do you expect to find. Personally I think people just accept it is the fact the meteor shower affected certain people that were caught up in it." Lois tried to deflect Sam.

"Well, we'll see. That's why we are here? I think I will be spending a lot of time in the Talon so we will have to meet up more often. This seems to be the hub of the town where I can get to speak to the locals about what they know or have seen over the years."

"Eli is fast asleep I see, does he sleep well? If he is anything like you he will love his bed. We could never get you out of bed." Sam continued.

Lois laughed. "Well I do like my sleep. Luckily Clark is more than willing to get up when Eli starts up."

"So how is your journalism course going? Martha told me in her letters what you are doing. I think you will make a great reporter." Sam said proudly.

Lois was starting to see a change in her father's attitude towards her. He seemed more positive towards her, rather than constantly picking up on the negatives as he used to do.

"I love it. You never know in a few years Clark and I may be hotshot reporters at the Daily Planet." Lois suggested.

"You never know..." Sam smiled. "Do you think Clark will come out with me for a drink sometime. I would like to get to know the father of my grandson. I think he is a bit frightened of me. He seems to cower whenever I am around."

"It's the General thing." Lois laughed. "You always scared off my boyfriends. It won't work on Clark though. I will ask him about a boy's night out, but I'm sure he will say yes."  
>"Thanks!"<p>

"Who was that man? He looked important." Lois inquired, expecting to be told it was top secret.

"He is my advisor on this project." Sam said, seemingly being quite open on the subject.

Just then John Jones walked in. Lois wondered if he was coming to see her.

"Are you General Lane?" he asked in an official tone.

"Yes I am. Who's asking?"

"I'm Detective John Jones. I have been brought in from Metropolis Police Dept to act as a go-between for the local Sheriff's dept. Apparently they could not spare anyone in the county."

Sam smiled and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you. This is my daughter Lois." Sam replied in a warm tone.

"We have already met. I was involved in bringing Eli to live with Lois and Clark." He explained.

Lois gulped. It would have been nice to be consulted about this new turn of events. She glared at John whilst her father was not looking.

This was getting very complicated..

It became evident over the next few days that the Government was meaning business. It was not every day that such a close knit community saw so much activity and people in town. Some of the people had business in town were enjoying the increasing population, as it meant more custom.

Lois was getting more anxious by the day and she knew Clark was worried too, although he never showed it. One afternoon she received a phone call from her dad asking her to pop over to the disused farm where they had set up all their equipment.

She drove up the overgrown lane to be met by her father. There must have been six or more massive tents and people were milling about everywhere, full of busy.

She got out of the car. "You weren't kidding when you said, the Government meant business."

"Come and have a look around."

"Isn't it all top secret?" Lois asked.

"No, actually on this one the Government is trying to be more transparent so we can get more cooperation from the local people." Sam replied.

"Oh, I see. Have you found out much?" Lois inquired.

"We are just getting set up now. There is a lot of hi-tech equipment."

"What sort of equipment do you need?"

"I'll show you in good time." Sam remarked. "First let's have a coffee and catch up some more. Where is Eli?"

"I thought he might be scared with all the activity so I left him with Clark."

"He is such a lovely kid. I am so proud to have a grandson." Sam was beaming with pride.

"He is! Can I just ask what you would do with an alien if you were to find one." Lois smiled.

"We would take them back to Washington for evaluation."

"You mean run tests on them like lab rats."

"Something like that." Sam laughed.

A chill ran up her spine at that thought. "Well I hope you don't find any."

After coffee, they went into one of the tents. There were noises everywhere from all the pieces of equipment. "What does all this do?" Lois asked.

"I don't understand most of it, to be honest." Sam explained, "but do come and see the piece de resistance." He walked over and grabbed a handheld device from a table.

"Looks like something from a sci-fi film, what does it do?" she asked.

"It scans people and can ascertain if there is any non human DNA in the area." Sam replied. Without warning he switched it on. The machine sprung into life.

"Non human DNA detected." It kept repeating.

"That's funny. It worked yesterday. Must be faulty." Sam smiled embarrassed.

Lois panicked. It obvious did work and had just detected her baby's unusual characteristics. She needed to call a meeting with John and Clark.

"Dad, I have just had a text." She pretended to check her phone. "Eli is playing up. I need to gat back."

"Can we talk tomorrow. Remember to ask Clark about that drink sometime. I might start to think he is avoiding me." He joked, not realising how true that was.

"I'll tell him."

She rushed back to the Farm and saw Clark heading over to the barn to do his chores. "Clark, we have major problems. The government have a machine that can detect alien DNA and when my dad switched it on, it went haywire. I think it detected the baby."

"What did your dad say?" Clark asked, obviously flustered by the turn of events.

"He said it must be faulty."

"I'm going to call John." Clark suggested.

"No you can't. Our networks aren't secure. I noticed some cell phone scanning equipment. You will have to go and get him until we can sort the cells out." Lois explained.

"Lois, you wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes." He soon arrived back with John and Emil.

His parents joined in. It was agreed that they had to try to do all they could to distract and sabotage the operation. John said he would go in and try to break the equipment if Sam could be distracted.

"Clark, my dad has been asking to go out with you so he can get to know you better. How about tonight. John, is it not a bit too risky to break into the tents?"  
>"I can sort out some interference to keep the people on site busy, if John can go and do his work."<p>

"Right, that's a plan. Emil and I will discuss things. Don't worry about it, Clark. Just enjoy your night out with your future pa-in-law." John laughed.

Sam was thrilled that Clark had agreed to go out with him. They met at the Talon for a few drinks.

"So how is your operation going?" Clark asked, trying to make small talk. He was actually nervous about tonight.

"Fine, I am pretty sure we will find something. Maybe not aliens but there is definitely something in this town affecting the people. You must have seen loads over the years. Do you remember the meteor shower? How old will you have been?" he felt that Sam was on to something.

"About two years old. I don't remember it."

"But weren't you found during the day of the shower."

"What makes you say that? I was adopted by the Kents around the time of the shower but I don't think I was in Smallville at the time. I don't know much about my real parents." He lied.

"Lionel Luthor swears he saw you in the truck with the Kents on the day of the shower."

"You would have to ask my parents. Do you remember when you were two?" he fired back.

"It doesn't matter anyway." But Clark knew Sam would not give up that easily.

" So how is life with my daughter? She can be a bit of a handful." Sam joked.

Just then Sam's cell rang. Clark listened in.

"We've got one, General."

Clark knew this could only mean one thing. They had John. Sam excused himself and shot out of the door. Clark knew he had to act.


	12. Chapter 12

Clark knew he had to act carefully. He could not superspeed in and rescue John because the camp would have all hi-tech surveillance equipment in place. He headed over to the base in his truck.

John was stuck in a cell from which he could easily escape but knew if he did, he could blow his cover. He would as a last resort but he knew he still had the option of trying to convince General Lane that he was human.

Sam arrived back at the base and went to the HQ where there was only his subordinate on duty. He was staring at the monitors which were streaming pictures from the cell.

"What have you got?"

His project manager, Tony was pointing to the screen. "Looks like our liaison officer is not human. We recalibrated that equipment and it had berserk when he was in the vicinity. I think he was trying to break in to sabotage our operation. "

"Are you sure the equipment is working? It wasn't earlier."

"I dismantled the whole machine myself and put it back together. I would stake my career on the fact it works."

Sam smiled. "Have you been able to contain this information?"

"Yeah, only you and I know. We need to make sure before the words spreads around the base."

"I'm going in to talk to him." Sam explained.

"Be careful. We have two lasers trained on him. It will take out any living organism. One wrong move and he will be toast." Tony smirked.

Sam entered the room to see John sitting at the other side of the table. "So Mr Jones, you are the last person I expected to see in here. Tell me, how does an alien make it to become such a high ranking agent in the police department."

"Check my record I worked my way up the ladder and don't you think you are getting carried away with this alien obsession. You really believe I'm ET. If so, why aren't I green and slimy." He replied sarcastically.

"Don't play funny with me! If I notify my superiors you will be carted off to Washington DC immediately"

"What will you do there? Dissect me." John smiled.

"So you are not denying you are an alien." Sam asked.

"Yeah of course I am an alien, my spaceship is parked just around the corner. I'm not denying anything because I am not under arrest so I do not have to answer your pathetic questions."

"What did the scan reveal?" Sam asked out allowed.

Tony's voice came over the PA system. "He is not human, I will notify..." Just then he stopped mid sentence.

Sam came out to see what had happened. He was amazed at who he saw. "Lois...what the hell?"

"I just gave him a sedative injection. He will be fine in a few hours."

"Why? What do you have to do with this."

"I am here to ask you to release John. He means you no harm."

"How do you know that? He is not human. He could be the start of an invasion force." Sam said nervously.

"Dad, I can promise you, there is no alien invasion on its way. They have been here a lot longer than you will ever know."

"I am going to inform the Pentagon unless you are going to knock me out too."

Lois remained calm. "No, but I would urge you to reconsider."

"How did you get involved in all this any way." Sam asked.

"It's not important right now. Just please think about what you are about to do. John came here, not to harm anyone, and he has saved lives on a daily basis."

Sam reached over to the console. "I'm sorry Lo. I need to do this. All the aliens need to be rounded up so they can't harm anyone."

Lois made a split second decision. "Does that involve, Elijah and the baby I am carrying now."

Sam turned to Lois, the shock and questions evident by his expression. "What do you mean?"

"Elijah is half alien, and I am 12 weeks pregnant with another half alien child. Are you going to cart your grandson and me off to your lab and do experiments on us."

Sam looked at her in disbelief. "You're going to great lengths to protect John aren't you?"

"Your scanner went off when I was near it. Try it again."

He reached for the scanner and switched it on. It started to alarm.

"See I told you. The choice is yours, dad."

"Even if I didn't do anything about John, Tony will." Sam explained.

"Let John out and he can mindwipe him." Lois replied. "And he can do it to you if that is what you want. But if you wanted to, I'm sure you convince the Government that you didn't find anything."

"Lois, this is my duty." Sam explained.

"Yeah duty always did come before family with you, didn't it. What is more important, your grandson or your duty." Lois tried to play on his conscience.

"Lo, there is no need to start giving me a guilt trip. It is obvious what I have to do."

"But..." Lois started to panic. Sam held his hand up to stop her.

"Lo, you and my grandchildren are the most important thing and I will go through with this for you all. Can I just ask, how Eli came about."

"Eli's origins are complicated, but this pregnancy is a little more conventional. I will explain it over dinner."

"Does Clark know about this?"

She blushed. "I'm assuming he does, considering he is their father."

Sam was about to question her further but then realised what Lois was implying. Just then Tony started to stir.

"John, can you come here? Can you mindwipe him before he wakes up." Lois asked.

John nodded, as Sam looked at him. "We have lots of work to do, let's get started."

Clark drove along the country road towards the base, and when he was about 300 yards away, he noticed Emil's car pulled up at the side of the road. He scanned it, Emil was in the driver seat. He pulled up.

"Emil, what's happening?" Clark asked as he noticed Emil looking a little groggy.

"They caught John, so Lois must have gone into rescue him."

Clark was annoyed. "And you let her?"

"She must have taken me out with one of the sedative shots I brought with me." Emil replied.

Just then an announcement shot out over the PA system on the base...

"Potential gas leak, please vacate the base immediately to a safe distance."

Clark recognised the voice of Sam Lane and saw this as the perfect opportunity to speed in. Seconds later he crept into the main tent.

He noticed Sam and John at a panel trying to figure something out, Lois was at the other side of the room dealing with some other instruments. She saw Clark.

"Clark, could you take this man out and place him outside the base." She pointed at Tony.

Clark was surprised at the request but did as she asked. He then headed back to the tent.

"What's going on?"

"We are evacuating the base and getting rid of evidence before we blow up the place." Sam said.

"Right, are we ready to go." Sam shouted.

"Yes, John, can you drop me off somewhere nearby and Clark can take Lois." Sam nodded. "Lois, as soon as I can, I will meet you at the Farm. It may take a while to deal with this." He hugged her. "I love you, Lo."

Lois started to tear up. It was the first time he had ever said that and he had proved his love beyond any doubt with his actions of the past 30 minutes.

"Ok, dad. Clark, take me back to the Emil's car." Lois asked.

Seconds later, they were stood next to the car. John joined them.

"Clark, I have scanned the base and I think everyone is clear, could you check."

Clark scanned the base and agreed.

"Right, I will aim at the gas storage room, can you take out the main tent." He looked at Clark who was puzzled but did not question it.

They both fired their heat vision, leaving balls of flames and plumes of spoke billowing up into the night's sky.

Back at the farm, Clark put Lois down as they entered the house to the sight of his concerned parents.

"What's happened?" his dad asked.

"We need to ask Lois. I have no clue." They all looked at her.

"I went to find John and found my father was about to cart him off to DC for evaluation so I intervened and told him that if he wanted to round up all the aliens, he would have to take Eli and me."

"You told him Eli and the baby was not totally human. That was risky Lois?" Clark looked shocked.  
>"Not really. John mind wiped the other person who knew about his really identity and he could have done the same to dad if he had not made the right decision to help cover up the existence of aliens. " Lois explained.<p>

Martha asked in amazement. "So Sam chose you and his grandchildren over his duty to the army."

"Basically, yes." She smiled. "He is coming as soon as he deals with the explosions at the base."

"What explosions?" Jonathan asked.

Clark explained everything and then headed over to the barn with Lois for some time alone.

"Are you mad with me?" Lois asked.

"No, I was shocked at first but Lois, I trust you and I know you would never sacrifice the safety of your children." He kissed her.

Sam turned up, just before midnight. Lois had dozed off on the sofa but Clark and his parents were still awake.

They sat down. Clark could not help but notice that Sam was looking strangely at him. Lois woke up from the noise. She staggered through to the kitchen.

"Hi dad, did you get everything sorted?"  
>"Yes, they are not launching an investigation thanks to John. He planted some thoughts in six different witnesses who all say they saw some flammable gas canisters leaking." Sam explained. "we are being ordered back to Washington DC for a rethink of Government policy. It seems the Government is on the verge of announcing cutbacks in army research programs due to the spiralling costs of overseas combat operations. So it seems pretty likely this operation will be shelved anyway."<p>

"Would you all mind if I go and talk to my dad alone."

She walked out of the door. "So what does this mean for us, dad?" Lois asked.

"It means I have to head back to DC in a few days."

"You know I didn't mean that."

"You mean the fact my daughter is dating an alien and I have a half alien grandchild, and another one on the way." He smiled.

"Well, it is a shock, but it has made me realise where my priorities lie. I can see Clark loves you and he is more human than a lot of people I have met. And Eli, what can I say about him. He is adorable and his origins don't change that. I am a little shocked at another addition being on the way, but I will get used to it."

"I'm still getting used to it. It was unexpected to say the least. But then again you still haven't told me the facts of life." She joked.

"Well, I knew I was going to get the blame somewhere along the line." Sam smiled.

Lois had never been more closer to her father. He made his peace with Clark, and it was arranged for them to visit DC in a few months at Christmas..

Lois, Clark and Eli had just returned from an enjoyable weekend in Washington DC. Sam had a massive announcement to make. He was leaving the army and taking up a post as an advisor for Queen Industries in Star City. Apparently, it was Emil who had made the introductions and it was a perfect opportunity for Sam to take up a very well paid job that would use his experience and skills.

Things had been a little strained at first between Clark and her father. He had obviously not come to terms with his daughter dating an alien but one thing it did not affect was his relationship with his grandson. He still doted on him, doing everything with him. Lois had never really seen this fatherly side of Sam before but she liked it. Sam arranged for them to meet up once he had moved to Star City.

Today was the day of the 20 week scan. They were looking forward to seeing if they were having a brother or sister for Eli.

"Emil, come on, let's get this over and done with." She asked impatiently.

"Ok, here we go. I need to do some measurements and then I will tell you the all important gender." Emil explained.

Emil completed all the necessary measurements as quickly as he could and then focused on what mattered.

"It's a...girl!" he exclaimed.

Lois and Clark hugged each other. "One of each..." Clark commented.

"Guess you were right and I was wrong." She joked.

Eli looked happy although he did not have a clue what was going on. He was just pleased to see his mommy and daddy happy.

Clark looked at his son. "Eli, have you got something for mammy."

Eli nodded and held out a box which Clark had sneakily handed him, but he would not hand it over to Lois. It was new and exciting and there was no way he was giving to anyone.

"Eli, come on...give it to your mommy." Clark asked again.

"What have you got there, Eli?" she asked nicely only to be met with Eli's 'forget it, its mine' looks which she saw regularly these days.

"Emil, can you pull one of those funny faces you do." Clark asked.

Seconds later Eli was in fits of laughter and more importantly distracted, so much in fact that Clark grabbed the box without his son even noticing.

"What is it?" Lois asked curiously

Her question was soon answered when Clark got down on one knee. "Lois, I have been meaning to ask you for a while but it never seemed like the right time. You have given me one beautiful child and will be giving me a precious daughter in five months, and to make me complete would you do the honor of becoming my wife."

Lois burst into tears and then stuttered out her words. "I...will. I love...you." she jumped up and hugged him.

It was a month later when Lois completed the walk down the aisle to make her dream come true. Everyone had turned out, even Lana who was on her best behaviour. Little Eli was a page boy complete with the cutest outfit, although he did create a bit of a commotion when the rings went missing.

Lois switched into paranoid mom mode and was convinced he had swallowed them, but they found them in his toy car. Clark was sure there was no way Eli would have time to put them in his car which was at the other side of the church unless...

Lois stopped him before he finished his crazy idea. There was no way Eli had superspeed. He had only been walking for six months. Clark knew he was right but decided not to push the matter further.

It was only on return from their honeymoon weekend away that his parents and Sam sat them down to break the news that Eli could not only superspeed but he could float.

"You mean he can almost fly. That's more than me." Clark replied trying to make a joke out of it. "I think it is time we called Emil."

Emil arrived with the bracelet he had made for Eli to protect any superpowers he may show. It was agreed that Eli would only wear it when he was at nursery or out anywhere in public. At home he could be who he needed to be.

Emil was almost flying by the time the baby was due. Lois was worried how she would deal with a newborn and flying toddler. Clark convinced her that they would manage and that they should take one day at a time. He reassured her that they would come up with a plan before the baby arrived.

They didn't have long. That night, Clark woke to the feeling of water trickling down his leg. He thought he was dreaming, but it soon dawned on him that it was really happening. Lois hadn't even noticed and was still fast asleep.

"Lois, wake up...The baby is on its way." Clark tried to rouse her but she moaned and told him it could wait til morning.

It was only minutes later when the first contraction hit that she knew this was for real.

"My god, I am going to have a baby."

"Let's get Emil."

Minutes later Emil was standing in their bedroom with all the equipment Clark had retrieved.  
>"The baby is coming now." Clark was hysterical.<br>Emil examined her. "Clark, she is only 1cm dilated, still 9cm to go. It could be hours, even days."

How wrong Emil was, within 20 minutes the cries filled the room. "God, that was one impatient baby." He said in shock.

Freya Ella Kent was born weighing in at 9lbs 6oz, but even more worryingly minutes after being born she hovered out of the cot in front of her shocked parents.

"My god, two flying children. I think I need that sedative after all, Emil." She joked, not realising how prophetic those words would be...

THE END


End file.
